For more information on press release
contact the Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites:
Mark LeBeau
916.801.4422; Radley Davis
530.917.6064; James Hayward
530.604.9478;
Morning Star Gali 510.601.6406;
Chris Peters
707.825.7640; Jimbo Simmons
415.641.4482;
Bradley Angel 415.248.5010;
Tom Goldtooth
218.751.4967
9th Circuit Court stops geothermal
energy development at sacred Medicine Lake Highlands!
Huge Victory for Pit River Nation and
Native and Environmental Justice Allies!
Pit River Country, CA—Native Americans and
their supporters have scored another victory in the effort
to protect the Medicine Lake Highlands from the
establishment of a geothermal power plant by Calpine energy
corporation on lands held by the U.S. Forest Service (FS)
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Since genesis the
Highlands have always been sacred to the Pit River, Wintu,
Modoc, Shasta, Klamath, and other Native nations. Many of
the families in these nations are the traditional caretakers
of these lands and it is their responsibility to protect
them. Numerous strategies have been used to accomplish these
goals, including securing investor divestment of shares from
Calpine, exposing the company’s illegal energy price-fixing
scheme, and staging a massive protest at the company’s
headquarters in San Jose earlier this year. In addition, the
Pit River Nation and various Native sacred sites protection
and environmental groups sued the federal government and
Calpine in an attempt to stop the development which will
cause irreparable damage to the natural environment and
Native cultures of the area. We invite all Native nations
working to protect their sacred places to use any of the
strategies we have employed, if such approaches would be
beneficial to your efforts.
When the plaintiffs lost in federal
court in 2004, the judge indicated that federal agencies had
complied with all applicable environmental and historic
preservation laws and did not violate the federal trust
responsibility to the Pit River Nation. However,
these laws and the trust
responsibility in particular are not to be taken lightly.
The federal government has a unique relationship with Indian
nations derived from the U.S. Constitution, treaties,
Supreme Court doctrine, federal statutes, executive orders,
and presidential directives. Federal agencies have a duty to
consult with Indian nations on proposed projects and
services that may impact upon their socio-economic and
governmental wellbeing. When federal agencies issued leases
to energy companies to build geothermal power plants in the
Highlands, neither the FS nor the BLM consulted with the Pit
River Nation.
The plaintiffs appealed the ruling
and in a unanimous decision, the 9th
Circuit Court on November 6, 2006 reversed the lower court
decision. Judge Clifford Wallace indicated that the federal
agencies neglected their fiduciary responsibilities to the
Pit River Nation by violating the National Environmental
Protection and the National Historic Preservation Acts and
that the agencies never took the requisite 'hard look' at
whether the Highlands should be developed for energy at all.
As a result, the court rejected the extension of leases that
would have allowed Calpine to develop the geothermal plant
and the district court is now directed to enter summary
judgment in favor of Pit River consistent with this opinion.
The federal government could appeal
the Circuit Court decision to the Supreme Court. In
preparation for this potential outcome, the Advocates for
the Protection of Sacred Sites is asking you to write Dirk
Kempthorne, Department of Interior Secretary, and urge him
to ensure that the FS and BLM (two agencies under his
jurisdiction) will not appeal and will abide by the current
rule of law on this issue. The following letter could be
used for this purpose:
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Dear Secretary Kempthorne,
I am writing to strongly urge you to
oppose appealing the decision of the 9th
Circuit Court in Pit River v. USFS/BLM. Two federal courts
have already spent a great deal of time and other resources
reviewing the case. In a unanimous
decision, the Circuit Court ruled that the federal agencies
neglected their fiduciary responsibilities to the Pit River
Nation by violating the NEPA and the NHPA and that the
agencies never took the requisite 'hard look' at whether the
Medicine Lake Highlands should be developed for energy at
all. As a result, the court rejected the extension of leases
that would have allowed Calpine energy corporation to
develop a geothermal plant. Another
appeal would further drain tax payer dollars and detract
agency staff from carrying out their normal functions.
The DOI and its agencies need to abide by the
current letter of the law in this case.
Sincerely,
XXXX
<<Press
Release on Victory for Medicine Lake Highlands.pdf>>
<<pit river decision.pdf>>
Mark LeBeau
Health Policy Analyst
California Rural Indian Health Board, Inc.
4400 Auburn Blvd., 2nd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95841
(916) 929-9761 Ext. 1030
(916) 929-7246 Fax
mark.lebeau@ihs.gov
