[News] Federal Court Rules for Lithium Mining on Paiute Massacre Site at Thacker Pass

Thu Feb 9 15:01:13 EST 2023

bsnorrell.blogspot.com
<https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/02/federal-court-rules-for-lithium-mining.html>
Federal Court Rules for Lithium Mining on Paiute Massacre Site at Thacker
Pass
February 8, 2023
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    Photo credit Lithium Americas at Thacker Pass. The company is based in
Vancouver, Canada

Attorney Max Wilbert said, "Monday's news from the Thacker Pass court case
was bad. There is no sugarcoating that. Some statements are circulating
that interpret the court decision as favorable. That is wrong; at this very
moment, Lithium Nevada is mobilizing trucks and heavy equipment to Thacker
Pass to begin destroying the land. The judge's decision essentially clears
the legal path for Lithium Nevada to begin full-scale construction over the
next few months."

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Protest of Lithium Americas planned mine outside federal court in Reno in
January.

*Federal Court Rules for Lithium Mining on Paiute Massacre Site at Thacker
Pass*

*“We have expected this decision for some time,” said Arlan Melendez,
Chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. “This does not mean consultation
was done correctly and it does not mean this fight is over. We will be
continuing to advocate for this sacred site.”*

*By Reno-Sparks Indian ColonyContacts: Bethany Sam, Will Falk, Max
WilbertCensored News*

RENO, Nevada — On Monday, Judge Miranda Du issued her decision in the
consolidated Thacker Pass court cases including Case No.
3:21-cv-00080-MMD-CLB, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Burns Paiute Tribe
lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management.

Judge Du ruled against the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and all the other
plaintiffs except on one, limited argument. She found that the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) did not determine whether or not Lithium Nevada
possesses valid mineral rights for 1,300 of the 18,000 acres that the mine
would cover. The judge is allowing the rest of the mine to proceed while
BLM determines whether Lithium Nevada possesses those rights.

“We have expected this decision for some time,” said Arlan Melendez,
Chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. “This does not mean consultation
was done correctly and it does not mean this fight is over. We will be
continuing to advocate for this sacred site.”

The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony attorney Will Falk said in a statement, “Law
is a limited tactic – especially in public lands mining cases where the law
presumes corporations have a right to mine. If we’re going to truly protect
Thacker Pass, we’re going to have to do more than file lawsuits and
litigate in court. We cannot rely on the government or a judge to protect
Thacker Pass. We’ll have to do it ourselves.”

Falk is the co-founder of Protect Thacker Pass, which led a protest camp on
the site for much of 2021.

Thacker Pass, known as Peehee Mu’huh in Paiute, is a sacred site to
regional tribes whose ancestors lived in the area for thousands of years,
and were massacred there on at least two occasions
<https://www.protectthackerpass.org/former-national-park-superintendent-striking-similarities-between-thacker-pass-and-sand-creek-massacre-sites/>.
It’s also critical habitat for wildlife including pronghorn, Greater
sage-grouse, golden eagles, mule deer, and an endangered snail species, the
King’s River Pyrg.

Lithium Nevada claims that its lithium mine will be essential to producing
batteries for combating global warming, and the Biden administration has
previously indicated some support for Thacker Pass. Opponents of the
project have called this “greenwashing
<https://www.sierranevadaally.org/2021/01/25/green-lithium-mining-is-a-bright-green-lie-dispatches-from-thacker-pass/>,”
arguing that the project would harm important wildlife habitat and create
significant pollution. They say that electric cars are still harmful to the
planet.

*We’re twice as committed now as we were when this fight began. Lithium
Nevada, General Motors, and the rest of their partners have long since lost
any pretense of moral high ground on sustainability and human rights issues*

*By Protect Thacker Pass*

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This court decision doesn’t mean the Thacker Pass mine is sustainable,
just, or righteous. Those issues were not heard in court. This decision
means only one thing: that federal law is stacked in favor of corporations,
against the planet, and against tribes and communities.

This is nothing new. We live in an unsustainable nation with a foundation
of corporate power, land theft, and the destruction of nature. The legal
system makes it essentially impossible for the Federal Government to say no
to mining companies — even when local communities, tribes, and regulatory
agencies have major concerns.

This is only a temporary defeat. We’re twice as committed now as we were
when this fight began. Lithium Nevada, General Motors, and the rest of
their partners have long since lost any pretense of moral high ground on
sustainability and human rights issues. Only when this is over will they
realize how big of a mistake they have made.

*Full court
decisionhttps://www.protectthackerpass.org/judge-du-publishes-decision-in-thacker-pass-court-case/
<https://www.protectthackerpass.org/judge-du-publishes-decision-in-thacker-pass-court-case/>*

*Read more:*

Yahoo Finance reports:

*The Federal Court rejected arguments that the Project will cause
unnecessary and undue degradation to the local sage grouse population and
habitat, groundwater aquifers and air quality; that the BLM failed to
adequately assess the Project’s impacts on air quality, wildlife and
groundwater; that the BLM failed to adequately consider the Project’s
impacts to culturally or religiously significant areas; and that BLM acted
unreasonably or in bad faith in identifying tribes for consultation before
approving the Project.*

*The remand issued by Federal Court to the BLM is to determine whether the
Company possesses adequate mining-claim rights to the lands over the area
in which the waste storage and tailings are expected to be located, based
on an appellate decision that was issued after the BLM issued its ROD for
Thacker Pass.*

*https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lithium-americas-receives-favorable-ruling-113000989.html
<https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lithium-americas-receives-favorable-ruling-113000989.html>*

*Electrek reports:*

*A US district court judge has upheld
<https://www.lithiumamericas.com/news/lithium-americas-receives-favorable-ruling-on-record-of-decision-for-thacker-pass>
the federal government’s decision to approve the Thacker Pass lithium mine
– North America’s largest known lithium source – after a permit issued in
2020 faced legal challenges.*

*Lithium is a key component in lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly
used to power EVs and renewables. Thacker Pass’s developer, Lithium
Americas <https://www.lithiumamericas.com/usa/thacker-pass/>, will likely
start heavy construction this summer. It’s expected to last for around
three years.*

*Conservationists, Indigenous communities, and a local rancher challenged
the federal approval of Thacker Pass, arguing that the government failed to
analyze the mine’s environmental impacts and did not thoroughly consult
Indigenous groups. *

https://electrek.co/2023/02/07/north-america-largest-lithium-mine/
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