Svend Brandt-Erichsen, Brian Imbornoni Recognized for SunZia Defense Win—Victory Clears Way for $4 Billion Power Line Project

Svend Brandt-Erichsen’s work for SunZia was highlighted in the Law360 story “Tribes, Green Groups Lose Challenge To SunZia Power Line.” (subscription needed)

Law360 wrote, “An Arizona federal judge… threw out a challenge by a coalition of tribes and conservation groups to undo a nearly decade-old federal government decision that they said allowed SunZia Transmission LLC to route a 520-mile power line through important cultural and historical sites in the San Pedro Valley.”

This ruling allows SunZia to continue construction of its $4 billion power line project. $7 billion in new wind energy projects will bring power to western markets as a result of the new power line project. Earlier this year, Svend and his team helped achieve another favorable ruling for SunZia regarding this project, when the Ninth Circuit denied an emergency request from two Native American tribes and several conservation groups to enjoin construction while they appealed the Arizona federal judge’s order permitting construction to progress. The groups voluntarily dismissed their Ninth Circuit appeal following that ruling.

In denying this most recent challenge, U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps said, “In sum, plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that the BLM violated the NHPA. Plaintiffs seek to vacate the LNTPs and underlying ROD in order to reroute the project out of the San Pedro Valley. However, the project route was determined by the 2015 ROD, and the six-year statute of limitations for challenging that final action has long since run.”

In addition to Svend, Brian Imbornoni was noted in the article for his work with SunZia.