{"id":34901,"date":"2024-01-24T22:17:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T03:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=34901"},"modified":"2024-01-25T00:45:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T05:45:08","slug":"tribes-taken-biden-administration-to-court-over-4-billion-energy-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/01\/24\/tribes-taken-biden-administration-to-court-over-4-billion-energy-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribes taken Biden administration to court over $4 billion energy project"},"content":{"rendered":" \"San<\/a>
An aerial view of the San Pedro Valley in Arizona, where construction is underway on a transmission line opposed by the Tohono O’odham Nation and the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Image: Archaeology Southwest<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Tribes taken Biden administration to court over $4 billion energy project<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, January 24, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Biden administration’s renewable energy agenda<\/a> is being tested in court with a lawsuit from tribes opposed to a $4 billion development that runs through their homelands.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn a complaint filed in federal court last week, the San Carlos Apache Tribe<\/a> and the Tohono O’odham Nation<\/a> accused the Department of the Interior<\/a> of failing to consult them about the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project<\/a>, which bills itself as the largest clean energy infrastructure development in U.S. history. The tribes say concerns about sacred sites in the San Pedro Valley<\/a> of southern Arizona have been ignored.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n \u201cFor more than a decade, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and others have been raising alarms about the need to protect the cultural resources in the San Pedro Valley from the impacts of the SunZia project,” Chairman Terry Rambler said in a news release <\/a>on Wednesday. “We join with the many other tribes whose sacred sites are endangered by this project in calling for a halt until our concerns are heard and addressed. We will keep fighting for a meaningful historic preservation process that actually addresses the concerns that so many have raised.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAccording to Tohono O\u2019odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose, his tribe informed the Bureau of Land Management<\/a> (BLM), an agency at Interior, and project developer Pattern Energy<\/a> about cultural resources in the San Pedro Valley. He alleges the Biden administration is violating the National Historic Preservation Act<\/a> (NHPA) by failing to protect sacred sites.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe O\u2019odham and our ancestors the Hohokam have deep cultural and historical connections to the San Pedro Valley, with many sites of great significance,” Jose said in the release. “We have made BLM and the Pattern Energy aware of this, but their disregard for the NHPA process has put these cultural sites in danger of irreparable harm. They must change course, immediately stop all ground clearing activity, and work with us to protect these sites as required by federal law.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

The SunZia Southwest Transmission Project will accelerate our nation\u2019s transition to a clean energy economy by unlocking renewable resources, creating jobs, lowering costs, and boosting local economies. pic.twitter.com\/AjuAjzgx3B<\/a><\/p>— Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) September 1, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>