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Judge temporarily blocks lithium drilling Arizona tribe says threatens sacred lands
A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries.
Lawyers for the national environmental group Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the Hualapai Tribe. They accuse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of illegally approving drilling planned by an Australian mining company in the Big Sandy River Basin in northwestern Arizona, about halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The case is among the latest legal fights to pit Native American tribes and environmentalists against the Biden administration as green energy projects encroach on lands that are culturally significant.
U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa granted a temporary restraining order late Monday, according to court documents. Humetewa is suspending the operation until she can hear initial arguments from the tribe, Arizona Lithium Ltd. and the bureau at a hearing in Phoenix on Sept. 17.
Bizuayehu Tesfaye / Las Vegas Review-Journal
The tribe wants the judge to issue a preliminary injunction extending the prohibition on activity at the site pending trial on allegations that federal approval of the exploratory drilling violated the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act.
“Like other tribal nations who for centuries have stewarded the lands across this country, the Hualapai people are under siege by mining interests trying to make a buck off destroying their cultural heritage,” Earthjustice lawyer Laura Berglan said in a statement Wednesday.
The tribe says in court documents that the bureau failed to adequately analyze potential impact on sacred springs the Hualapai people call Ha’Kamwe,’ which means warm spring. The springs have served as a place “for healing and prayer” for generations.
The tribe and environmental groups also argue that a 2002 environmental review by the bureau and the U.S. Energy Department determined that the land was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a traditional cultural property.
Arizona Lithium plans a total of 131 drilling sites across nearly a square mile to obtain samples to help determine if there’s enough lithium to construct a mine and extract the critical mineral needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, among other things.
Justice Department lawyers representing the bureau said in court filings this week that any potential impact of an actual mine would be determined by a more extensive environmental review. They said the tribe is exaggerating potential harm that could come solely from exploratory drilling.
“Given the speculative nature of Hualapai’s alleged harm and the benefits of better defining the lithium deposits in this area, the equities favor denying” the tribe’s bid for additional delay, the government lawyers wrote.
“Further, an injunction would not be in the public interest because the project is an important part of the United States’ green energy transition,” they said.
The bureau completed a formal environmental assessment of the project and issued a finding of “no significant impact” in June. The bureau issued a final decision approving the drilling on July 9.
In court documents, Arizona Lithium referenced the “prodigious amount of resources” expended over three years to get federal authorization for the project, saying it worked with land managers to develop a plan that complied with federal regulations and considered the interests of the Hualapai Tribe, the environment and local residents.
The tribe says its homeland stretches from the Grand Canyon south and east toward mountain ranges near Flagstaff, Arizona.
The Ha’Kamwe’ springs are on land known as Cholla Canyon, which is held in trust for the tribe. According to the lawsuit, there is archaeological evidence of the tribe’s presence there dating to 600 A.D.
“Today our people celebrate the granting of the temporary restraining order, but understand our fight is not over,” Hualapai Tribe Chairman Duane Clarke said in a statement Wednesday. “We will continue to bring awareness to the protection of our water.”
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Paul Whelan, freed in prisoner swap with Russia, tells other American detainees: “We’re coming for you”
Washington — Nearly seven weeks after the Russians handed over Paul Whelan on a tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, the Marine veteran stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with a message for other Americans who are held abroad.
“We’re coming for you,” he told reporters Tuesday night after he met with lawmakers. “It might take time, but we’re coming.”
Whelan said he spoke with lawmakers about how the government can better support detainees after they’re released.
“We spoke about how the next person’s experience could be better,” he said. “What the government could do for the next person that’s held hostage and comes home — the care and support that other people might need, especially people that are in a worse situation. There are people coming back that lived in the dirt without shoes for three years, people that were locked up in hideous conditions for 20 years. They need support.”
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The U.S. secured Whelan’s release in August in one of the largest prisoner swaps since the end of the Cold War. The complex deal came after months of sensitive negotiations between the U.S., Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway.
As part of the deal, Russia released 16 prisoners while the Western countries released eight Russians. Whelan was released alongside Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. green card holder and Kremlin critic.
Whelan, who had been the longest-held American detainee in Russia, was arrested in December 2018 when he traveled to the country to attend a friend’s wedding. He was convicted of espionage in a secret trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan, his family and the U.S. government vehemently denied that he was a spy and accused Russia of using him as a political pawn. The U.S. government considered him to be wrongfully detained, a rare designation that put more government resources toward securing his release.
But a deal to secure his freedom was long elusive. He remained behind bars as Russia freed Marine veteran Trevor Reed and women’s basketball star Brittney Griner — both of whom were detained after Whelan’s arrest — in prisoner swaps with the U.S.
The U.S. said it pushed for his inclusion in both exchanges, but Russia refused. It led to Whelan advocating for his own release from a remote prison camp, calling government officials and journalists to make sure that he wasn’t forgotten.
When the plane carrying Whelan, Gershkovish and Kurmasheva landed in Maryland on Aug. 1, Whelan was the first to disembark. He was greeted by President Biden, who gave Whelan his American flag pin, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Whether he likes it or not, he changed the world,” Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, told reporters Tuesday.
Whelan’s case and his family’s constant pressure on the U.S. government brought more attention to the cases of Americans who are wrongfully detained by foreign governments.
Haley said Whelan is a reminder to other Americans considering traveling to Russia that “you have a target on your back.”
Whelan said it’s been an adjustment acclimating to life back in the U.S., especially learning the latest technology like his iPhone 15.
“I was in a really remote part of Russia,” he said. “We really didn’t have much. The conditions were poor. The Russians said the poor conditions were part of the punishment. And coming back to see this sort of thing now is a bit of a shock, but it’s a good shock.”