“Environmental protection groups filed a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Interior over appointments of National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management leaders.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Western Watersheds Project.
The suit seeks to vacate Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s May 5 order to extend appointments of NPS Deputy Director David Vela and BLM Deputy Director William Pendley by one month.
Neither has been nominated or confirmed by the the U.S. Senate or appointed by President Donald Trump as “acting” director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, the suit says.”
