"The Bureau of Land Management will try to persuade a federal judge Tuesday to allow Ormat Nevada’s geothermal project to proceed over objections from an American Indian tribe and an environmental group.

The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and the Center for Biological Diversity are expected to focus their oral argument on claims that building the Dixie Valley Geothermal Utilization Project threatens the environment and the tribe’s interests in performing traditional religious practices.

The project is located near the Dixie Meadows Hot Springs, which is sacred to the tribe, the lawsuit says. The hot springs also provide the only known habitat for the Dixie Valley toad, according to the complaint.

The tribe and the environmental group will argue to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that the agency’s approval of the project violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

Maya Earls reports for Bloomberg Environment January 3, 2022. [2]