"Judge blocks Arizona lithium drilling that tribe says is threat to sacred lands," 22 August 2024

A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries.

Lawyers for the national environmental group Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the Hualapai Tribe. They accuse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of illegally approving drilling planned by an Australian mining company in the Big Sandy River Basin in... Arizona...

Justice Department lawyers representing the bureau said in court filings this week that any potential impacts of an actual mine would be determined by a more extensive environmental review. They said the tribe is exaggerating potential harm that could come solely from exploratory drilling.

“Given the speculative nature of Hualapai’s alleged harm and the benefits of better defining the lithium deposits in this area, the equities favor denying” the tribe’s bid for additional delay, the government lawyers wrote.

“Further, an injunction would not be in the public interest because the project is an important part of the United States’ green energy transition,” they said...

In court documents, Arizona Lithium referenced the “prodigious amount of resources” expended over three years to get federal authorization for the project, saying it worked with land managers to develop a plan that complied with federal regulations and considered the interests of the Hualapai Tribe, the environment and local residents.