The lawsuit challenges US approval of the Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (CLASS) — When the federal government approved the Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada a week agoenvironmentalists said they would sue to protect Tiehm’s buckwheat, a rare native wildflower that grows only where the mine is located.

On Thursday, the Center for Biological Diversity made good on that promise. A 67-page lawsuit names US government agencies — and their leaders — alleging they failed to follow their own protocols in approving the mine, taking shortcuts in the approval process that eliminated important standards.

“This process is about much more than preventing the extinction of Tiehm’s buckwheat,” Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release. “The Bureau of Land Management’s authorization of the Rhyolite Ridge Mine is a flagrant violation of numerous environmental protection laws, and the integrity of these bedrock conservation laws is at stake. We need lithium for the crucial transition to renewable energy, but the government cannot break the law and drive species to extinction to get it.”

The Biden administration has accelerated approvals for the development of renewable energy resources, and lithium is a critical component in the production of batteries for the growing electric vehicle market. Domestic sources of lithium have become a priority.

The battle for the mine has been going on for years, and final federal approval for the project was announced on October 24. The mine is halfway between Las Vegas and Reno, not far from the nation’s only active lithium mine at Silver Peak, just west of Tonopah.

Tiehm’s buckwheat grows on 10 acres that fall squarely within the footprint of the boron- and lithium-rich soils of Esmeralda County’s Silver Peak Range. “As a result of the Center’s petition and subsequent lawsuits, buckwheat was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2022,” said materials provided by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The lawsuit does not name Ioneer, the Australian company behind the Rhyolite Ridge project. Instead, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit—the Center for Biological Diversity, Great Basin Resource Watch, and the Western Shoshone Defense Project—are going directly after the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). . ). Interior Secretary Debra Haaland, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, USFWS Director Martha Williams and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis.

The lawsuit claims the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Endangered Species Act in approving the mine.

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In addition to the allegations regarding the approval process, the lawsuit includes claims by the Western Shoshone tribe that accuse the government of mismanaging the environment it is supposed to protect.

“The US and corporations claim to save the planet while destroying the land and polluting the water by bending and breaking the law,” according to Fermina Stevens, director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project. “This, however, is no surprise to the Western Shoshone. The US government has broken its word and its laws since it arrived on our soil 200 years ago.”

‘At grave risk of extinction’: Conflict over lithium, Nevada’s wild flower looms large

Stevens said: “You cannot save the planet from climate change while simultaneously destroying biodiversity.”

Conservation groups expect springs in the area to dry up as the mine pumps groundwater each year.

“The mine plan calls for an open pit 1,000 feet deep, surrounded by 2 square miles of tailings dumps and a sulfuric acid processing plant. Hundreds of truck trips per day would create an industrial zone in a currently pristine area that is home to bighorn sheep, golden eagles and hundreds of plant species,” the Center’s press release said.

Officials from Ioneer reached out to 8 News Now with this statement defending the BLM’s decision:

Ioneer has spent years working diligently with Esmeralda County, Nevada and federal regulators, the Fish Lake Valley community and tribal nations to sustainably develop our Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project. This fact is reflected in the recent record of decision issued by the Bureau of Land Management following an extensive multi-year permitting process.
We are aware of the lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity against the Bureau of Land Management regarding our permitted project.
We are confident that the BLM will prevail against this lawsuit.
We intend to intervene and vigorously defend the BLM’s decision which was based on a careful and thorough permitting process.
We do not expect this process to significantly affect our proposed development timeline.
Ioneer continues to advance its work to obtain a final investment decision from the Board and its partners.
— Chad Yeftich, Vice President of Corporate Development and External Affairs, Ioneer.

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