Conservation groups urged a Montana court to toss out the new permit that President Donald Trump issued last month in an effort to skirt environmental laws and restart TransCanada Corp.'s stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline project.
The March 29 permit was aimed at undercutting legal challenges to the $8 billion project, including a November ruling by a Montana district judge that faulted the State Department's previous environmental analysis, a person familiar with the matter said at the time,
Friday's complaint was filed by a nonprofit representing indigenous people from the region where the project is proposed and a conservation advocacy group. They contend that Trump lacked authority to issue the new permit because the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to administer federal lands and regulate foreign commerce.
"The project would pose grave risks to the environment, including the climate, cultural resources, water resources, fish and wildlife, and human health and safety," according to the complaint.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
The case is Indigenous Environmental Network v. Trump, U.S. District Court, District of Montana, Great Falls Division.
