US court rejects a request by tribes to block $10B energy transmission project in Arizona

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request from Native American tribes and environmentalists to stop work on a $10 billion transmission line being built through a remote valley in southeastern Arizona that will carry wind-generated electricity from New Mexico will ship to customers as far away as California.

The project — approved in 2015 after a lengthy review — is touted as the largest U.S. electricity infrastructure undertaking since the Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s.

Two tribes, along with archaeologists and environmentalists, filed a lawsuit in January, accusing the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management of denying “overwhelming evidence of the cultural significance” of remote San Pedro for nearly 15 years Valley to recognize Native American tribes. including the Tohono O’odham, Hopi, Zuni and San Carlos Apache tribe.

The lawsuit was filed after Pattern Energy received approval to transmit electricity generated by the SunZia wind farm in central New Mexico through the San Pedro Valley, east of Tucson.

The lawsuit called the valley “one of the most intact, prehistoric and historic landscapes in southern Arizona” and asked the court to issue restraining orders or permanent injunctions to halt construction.

In dismissing the claims, Judge Jennifer Zipps said the plaintiffs were years late in filing their claims and that the Bureau of Land Management had met its obligations to identify historic sites and establish an inventory of cultural resources.

Tohono O’odham Attorney General Howard Shanker argued at a hearing in March that claims by federal land managers that they could not find any evidence of the valley’s significance to tribes in the area were disingenuous at best. He referenced an academic book on the valley published by the University of Arizona Press and the statement of a tribal member who once served as a cultural resources official.

The transmission lines will forever transform “a place of beauty, prayer and solitude for generations of O’odham who wish to connect with the spirits of their direct ancestors,” Shanker said. “So the irreparable damage is clear.”

Government representatives told the judge that the SunZia project is a major renewable energy initiative and that the tribes waited too long to file their claims. They also argued that tribal representatives accompanied government officials in surveying the area in 2018 to identify and inventory potential cultural resources.

Pattern Energy’s attorneys argued that more than 90% of the project had been completed and that there were no unintended discoveries of cultural sites in the valley. They told the judge that “through good planning” the identified locations were avoided as crews cleared the area for roads and platforms where the cell towers will be located.

The judge agreed, saying the record supports the Bureau of Land Management’s contention that the project route avoids direct impacts to cultural resources identified by the studies.

Pattern Energy also argued that halting work would be catastrophic, with any delay having a cascading effect that would jeopardize the project and the company’s ability to deliver electricity to customers as promised in 2026.

SunZia expects the transmission line to enter commercial service in 2026 and transport more than 3,500 megawatts of wind energy to 3 million people.

The San Pedro Valley represents a 50-mile stretch of the planned 550-mile pipeline to carry electricity from wind farms in central New Mexico through Arizona to more populated areas in California. The project is one of several that will strengthen President Joe Biden’s agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Work began last year in New Mexico after years of negotiations that resulted in approval from the Bureau of Land Management. The New Mexico route was adjusted after the U.S. Department of Defense raised concerns about the effects of power lines on radar systems and military training operations.

In Arizona, work was briefly halted in November amid pleas from tribes to review environmental approvals for the San Pedro Valley. Construction resumed weeks later in what Tohono O’odham chairman Verlon M. Jose characterized as “a punch in the heart.”

During the March hearing, attorneys accused the federal government of stringing the tribes along while insinuating that more work would be done to investigate the valley.

Hilary Tompkins, a lawyer for Pattern Energy, described the consultation process over the past decade as comprehensive and said claimants had ample opportunity to raise their concerns.

“As construction continues, we remain committed to an open, good-faith effort to advance the goals of cultural resource protection, environmental stewardship and the clean energy transition,” she said Tuesday.

The transmission line is also being challenged in the Arizona Court of Appeals. The court is asked to consider whether state regulatory officials properly considered the benefits and consequences of the project.