Here are the Ninth Circuit briefs in Center for Biological Diversity v. Salazar (Arizona 1 Mine):
Oral argument audio here.
Lower court materials here.
Materials in prior appeal here.
Environmental
Update in Ruby Pipeline Case
Guess the big win wasn’t all that big. Here are two unpublished opinions from the Ninth Circuit in related cases that are not so excellent for the tribes.
Moapa Band of Paiute Indians Appeals EPA Air Standard for Coal Plant to Ninth Circuit
Ninth Circuit Hands Summit Lake Paiute Tribe & Fort Bidwell Indian Community Big Win in Challenge to BLM Approval of Ruby Pipeline
Here is the opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. BLM.
An excerpt:
Our case concerns a decision by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) to authorize the Ruby Pipeline Project (“Project”). The Project involves the construction, operation, and maintenance of a 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline extending from Wyoming to Oregon, over 678 miles. The right-of-way for the pipeline encompasses approximately 2,291 acres of federal lands and crosses 209 rivers and streams that support federally endangered and threatened fish species. According to a Biological Opinion (“the Biological Opinion” or “the Opinion”) formulated by the Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”), the project “would adversely affect” nine of those species and five designated critical habitats. The FWS nonetheless concluded that the project “would not jeopardize these species or adversely modify their critical habitat.” The propriety of the FWS’s “no jeopardy” conclusion, and the BLM’s reliance on that conclusion in issuing its Record of Decision, are at the heart of this case. This opinion addresses those challenges to the Project that petitioners Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife et al., and Summit Lake Paiute Tribe have raised under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq. Specifically, we resolve petitioners’ claims that the Biological Opinion and its accompanying Incidental Take Statement were arbitrary and capricious because: (1) the Biological Opinion’s “no jeopardy” and “no adverse modification” determinations relied on protective measures set forth in a conservation plan not enforceable under the ESA; (2) the Biological Opinion did not take into account the potential impacts of withdrawing 337.8 million gallons of groundwater from sixty-four wells along the pipeline; (3) the Incidental Take Statement miscalculated the number of fish to be killed, by using a “dry-ditch construction method” for water crossings; and (4) the Incidental Take Statement placed no limit on the number of “eggs and fry” of threatened Lahontan cutthroat
trout to be taken during construction. We agree with the first two contentions and so set aside the Biological Opinion as arbitrary and capricious. We also set aside the Record of Decision, as it relied on the invalid Biological Opinion.
Briefs here.
Congrats to Colette Routel and the tribes.
NYTs: Iron-Dumping Experiment Off B.C. Coast Intended to Assist Haida Salmon Fishery
Here is the article.
An except:
The incident has prompted an investigation by Canadian environmental officials, and in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was misled into providing ocean-monitoring buoys for the project.
The entrepreneur, Russ George, said his team scattered 100 tons of iron dust in mid-July in the Pacific several hundred miles west of the islands of Haida Gwaii, in northern British Columbia, in a $2.5 million project financed by a native Canadian group.
The substance acted as a fertilizer, he said, fostering the growth of enormous amounts of plankton. He said that could help the project meet what it casts as its top goal: aiding the recovery of the salmon fishery for the native Haida people. Mr. George said the team remained at sea for several months monitoring the plankton growth.
Forthcoming Book Announcement: “Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples” (Abate & Kronk, eds.)
EPA Record of Decision in MHA Nation Oil Refinery Project
Here.
Update in Navajo Dine CARE v. Salazar Suit re Navajo Mine — Additional Update (11/6/12)
Here are the updated materials:
Navajo Intervention and Motion to Dismiss post
Update: FINAL 2012-10-18 Dine C.A.R.E.,et al. v. Salazar Not. Supp. Auth.
Opposition Builds Against Plans for Northwest Coal Terminals
Arizona Snowbowl Treated Snowmaking System May Generate Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
From the NYTs here. An excerpt:
Now, apart from longstanding concern about harmful chemicals in the water that will be used to make that snow — piped directly from the sewage treatment system of the nearby town of Flagstaff — new research indicates that the wastewater system is a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant genes.
The genes were not detectable in the plant itself but “increased dramatically” at the point of use, meaning that they were found in places like sprinkler heads, the study said. “This means bacteria is growing in the distribution pipes,” said Amy Pruden, the author and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.
The study has not been published or peer-reviewed, but Flagstaff officials are taking it seriously enough to have invited Dr. Pruden to serve on an advisory panel that the city formed last week.
Antibiotic-resistant genes are an area of emerging concern to scientists because they impede the body’s ability to fight disease.
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