(CNN) A Trump administration proposal that would limit the public's access to Interior Department records is drawing the ire of open-government and environmental groups, who are preparing to challenge it with a lawsuit.

The proposal says it is designed to address "exponential increases in requests and litigation" under the Freedom of Information Act in the Trump administration.

Critics charge that the proposal would pull a thicker veil over the department, which makes important decisions about oil drilling, mining, water use and endangered species, and manages millions of acres of public land.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, which on Thursday filed a 63-page objection signed by more than 130 groups, called the proposal illegal and claimed that it would provide "the agency with unlimited discretion to deny FOIA requests."

Their objections include proposed changes that the Interior Department says would "streamline the FOIA submission process in order to help the Department inform requesters and/or focus on meeting its statutory obligations."

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