The North Carolina Utilities Commission will make a decision about an energy project near Kituwah, the ancestral Cherokee home.

A group called Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County submitted a petition to challenge the Duke Energy project. The group says electrical substation will harm Kituwah, about a half-mile away.

Duke must respond to the complaint by April 16. The commission is expected to rule on an injunction by April 27 and will make a decision on other issues at a later date, The Asheville Citizen-Times reported.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opposes work at the site. Commissioners in Swain County have imposed a 90-day moratorium on development.

Kituwah is the birthplace of the Cherokee people. It was home to the tribe's ancestral village and the site of a year-round sacred flame.

Get the Story:
State to rule on Duke substation near Cherokee mother town (The Asheville Citizen-Times 4/6)

Related Stories:
Petition takes aim at development by Cherokee birthplace (4/1)
County delays development near Cherokee sacred site (03/16)
Cherokee tribes discuss sacred site with company (2/19)
Editorial: Don't put electrical station near sacred site (2/16)
Eastern Cherokees oppose building near site (2/11)