Nevada geothermal power lawsuit bound for US appeals court
Associated Press
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FILE - The Dixie Meadows is pictured in June 2017 in Churchill County, Nev. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 15, 2021, conservationists and tribal leaders are suing the U.S. government to try to block construction of two geothermal plants there that they say will destroy a sacred hot springs and push the toad to the brink of extinction. A federal judge said on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, he intends to temporarily block any construction work for 90 days at a proposed geothermal power plant in Nevada that opponents say would destroy a sacred tribal site and could result in extinction of a rare toad being considered for endangered species protection.(Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity via AP, File)A Dixie Valley toad sits atop grass in Dixie Valley, Nev., on April 6, 2009. The Dixie Valley toad is found only in Nevada and its entire population lives in a thermal spring-fed wetland in the remote Dixie Valley. A federal appeals court will have to decide whether protecting historical tribal lands and a rare toad warrant blocking a major geothermal plant in Nevada as the nation tries to move away from fossil fuels amid a looming climate crisis. (Matt Maples/Nevada Department of Wildlife via AP)FILE - A rare Dixie Valley toad sits in grass in June 2017 in the Dixie Meadows in Churchill County, Nev. A federal judge said on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, he intends to temporarily block any construction work for 90 days at a proposed geothermal power plant in Nevada that opponents say would destroy a sacred tribal site and could result in extinction of a rare toad being considered for endangered species protection. (Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity via AP,File)
Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity
FILE - The Dixie Meadows is pictured in June 2017 in Churchill County, Nev. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 15, 2021, conservationists and tribal leaders are suing the U.S. government to try to block construction of two geothermal plants there that they say will destroy a sacred hot springs and push the toad to the brink of extinction. A federal judge said on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, he intends to temporarily block any construction work for 90 days at a proposed geothermal power plant in Nevada that opponents say would destroy a sacred tribal site and could result in extinction of a rare toad being considered for endangered species protection.(Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity via AP, File)