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 by Native American tribes and environmentalists to stop work on a $10 billion transmission line being built through a remote southeastern Arizona valley that will carry wind-generated electricity from New Mexico to customers as far away as California.

The suit was filed after Pattern Energy received approval to transmit electricity generated by its 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 historical ... landscapes in southern Arizona,” and asked the court to issue restraining orders or permanent injunctions to halt construction.

The transmission lines will forever transform “a place of beauty, prayer and solitude for generations of O'odham who want to connect with the spirits of their direct ancestors," Shanker said. “So the irreparable harm is clear.”Government representatives told the judge that the SunZia project is a key renewable energy initiative and that the tribes waited too long to bring their claims.

Pattern Energy also argued that stopping work would be catastrophic, with any delay having a cascading effect that would compromise the project and the company's ability to get electricity to customers as promised in 2026. In Arizona, work was halted briefly in November amid pleas by tribes to review environmental approvals for the San Pedro Valley. ConstructionDuring the March hearing, lawyers accused the federal government of stringing the tribes along with insinuations that more work would be done to survey the valley.

A defiant House Speaker Mike Johnson, facing growing threats to his speakership, said Tuesday he is not resigning and dismissed threats to his gavel as “absurd” after a second Republican member of Congress threatened to oust Johnson for his handling of legislation to send foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.

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