DENVER (March 14, 2008) — The Department of Energy (DOE) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and failed to comply with Section 1221 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPA) when it designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC) across huge swaths of land in the nation’s Southwestern and Mid-Atlantic states, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
“Places like California’s Joshua Tree National Park and the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona are being put at risk through the Department of Energy’s failure to look at the likely damage these places will suffer in its rush to designate transmission corridors and give the Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission unheralded authority to approve projects in them,” Nada Culver, Senior Counsel for The Wilderness Society, said. “Consideration should be given to avoiding these significant habitats entirely.”
In the Southwest, twelve National Wildlife Refuges, four National Park service units, and dozens of other areas set aside for conservation purposes in southern California and Arizona could potentially be crisscrossed by high-voltage power lines. The Mid-Atlantic NIETC includes hundreds of square miles in eastern Ohio and all or substantial portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., impacting so many natural and historic wonders that this so-called “corridor” area was named by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
“The Department of Energy also ignored Congress’s intent by failing to comply with the Energy Policy Act’s mandates to fully consider public comments and alternatives in designating these corridors,” Culver added. “As a result, large swaths of lands, not corridors, are prime targets for development and DOE’s actions will enable projects to go forward even over the objections of state and federal agencies, as well as private citizens.”
The Department of Energy has interpreted the legislative language as giving the agency the power to designate whole regions of the country—even entire states — as potential energy corridors, according to Culver. Once the areas are identified, authority for approval of projects within the transmission corridors can be issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), through an abridged approval process with watered down environmental review, which can be used to bypass and even override state and local authorities. Companies can also be permitted to use the government's eminent domain authority to condemn private land to ensure new transmission lines are built or existing lines are expanded and can also override federal, state or local agency denials of authorizations by appealing directly to the President.
“This lawsuit is not about stopping transmission projects. We recognize the need for increased investment in transmission solutions across the country,” Anjali Jaiswal, an attorney for NRDC, said. “But we need to ensure that these transmission corridor designations take place in compliance with federal environmental law.”
This lawsuit, filed after DOE denied a rehearing, is in addition to other actions already pending in federal district courts filed by conservation groups and the State of Pennsylvania. Moreover, members of the U.S. Senate have called for and will be holding oversight hearings on the NIETC designations. The Senators cite the DOE’s failure to take into account alternatives to use renewable energy or encourage conservation, as well as failures to comply with environmental laws and to respond to the concerns raised by states and citizens.
“This proposal threatens to undermine years of conservation efforts to protect places such as the California Desert Conservation Area and other wild places throughout the state,” said Brent Schoradt of the California Wilderness Coalition. “The Department of Energy has failed to properly consider public comment or exclude areas in California that are designated wilderness, national monuments, national parks and roadless forest lands.”
Take a detailed look at what protected lands are impacted in the Southwest.
Learn more about the areas the Mid-Atlantic corridors will impact.
Find a fact sheet on the NIETC process.
If you would like a copy of the court filing papers, please contact Nada Culver or Drew Bush.
