A coalition of public-interest groups on Tuesday said it was suing the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration, accusing the agencies of shirking environmental obligations in their ongoing efforts to produce nuclear weapon cores, also known as pits.

The announced legal action is a salvo in a long-simmering standoff between the groups — including Savannah River Site Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, and Tri-Valley CAREs — and the federal government, which has denied wrongdoing.

The watchdogs in February lobbied the newly installed Biden administration to conduct a holistic review of contemporary plutonium pit production plans, which came to prominence under the Trump administration and have since been endorsed by Biden’s energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, and his choice to lead the NNSA, Jill Hruby.

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