A Federal Court of Appeals has been placed on the side of the American native tribes in its fight against the federal government in a $ 10 billion energy transmission line designed to transport electricity generated by the wind from New Mexico to customers as far as California.
The Nation Tohono O’ODham, together with the tribe of San Carlos Apache, the Center for Biological Diversity and Archeology, Southwest defendant The Interior Department of the United States and the then internal secretary must have in 2024. They argued that the agency could not properly consult with the tribes in a designation of historical property for the San Pedro Valley of the South of Arizona.
A panel of three judges of the 9th Court of Appeals of the United States Circuit ruled on Tuesday that a lower court made an error dismissing the case Last year and ordered the matter to be reconsidered.
The panel concluded that an appropriate consultation would have turned out that the valley was designated as a historical property and that the agency was obliged to identify historical properties that would be affected and ensure that any adverse effect was avoided, minimized or mitige before authorizing construction.
The Tohono O’ODham nation had promised when the case was dismissed to pursue all legal routes to protect the lands that he and other tribes consider sacred. The tribal president, Verlon Jose, reiterated that the tribe will continue to fight for their rights and that Tuesday’s ruling marked an important victory in the long dispute.
“The Tohono O’ODham nation supports clean and renewable energy, when it is done in the right way,” said José in a statement. “With the Sunzia project, the federal government did not work with tribes to protect our cultural resources as required by law.”
The valley represents a 50 mile stretch (80 kilometers) of the 550 -mile planned duct (885 kilometers). The electricity transport of wind farms in the New Mexico Center is expected to transport the transmission lines in Arizona to serve populated areas as far as California. The project was one of those promoted as an important part of former President Joe Biden for a carbon contamination free electricity sector by 2035.
The construction in the San Pedro Valley is already complete, said Matt Dallas, a Sunzia spokesman.
“We are reviewing the opinion, and Sunzia remains on the road of commercial operation in 2026”. Dallas said.
In response to the questions about the last ruling and if the federal government was in conversations with the tribes, interior spokeswoman J. Elizabeth Peace said the department does not comment on pending litigation.
La Paz said that the agency “remains committed to administering our natural and cultural resources, honoring the responsibilities of tribal trust and public land management for all Americans.”
President Donald Trump in recent weeks has signed a series of executive orders Promote the production of national energy and has cited the need for reliability of the Nation’s electricity grid in the midst of the growing demand promoted in part by the artificial data and intelligence centers.
