CURRENT STATUS
Court Agrees with Western Shoshone and Allies that the Interior Department’s Approval of the Mine Likely Violated Federal Law
December 3, 2009: San Francisco,CA and Crescent Valley, NV – In a major ruling, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued its ruling enjoining the construction and operation of the Cortez Hills gold mine, proposed by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Ninth Circuit reversed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, which had denied the motion for preliminary injunction filed by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case are: the South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone, the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Great Basin Resource Watch (the “Plaintiffs”). The Plaintiffs challenged the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) decision to approve the Cortez Hills Mine in November of 2008.
In overturning the District Court’s decision, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their legal arguments that BLM violated federal environmental and public land law in approving the Mine. The Ninth Circuit also found that enjoining the Mine was in the public interest due to the “irreparable environmental harm threatened by this massive project.” Among other issues, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claims that BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act in failing to properly analyze the environmental impacts from the Mine on groundwater, air quality, and other resources. “Suspending a project until that consideration has occurred thus comports with the public interest.”
Download Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals here
Download GBRW Media Release here
Legal Timeline:
November 12 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo.
November 20, 2008, South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone of Nevada, Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Great Basin Resource Watch (Plaintiffs) file a for injuctive relief in the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA (in Reno) to temporarily stop the mine project.
January 26, 2009, Judge John Hicks (Reno) denied the Preliminary Injuction to halt actions at Mt. Tenabo.
February 6, 2009, the Plaintiffs filed an appeal of the decision of Judge John Hicks in THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT (San Fransisco, CA) on our emergency motion for to stop action at Mt. Tenabo.
June 10, 2009, tttorney for the Plaintiffs (Roger Flynn of the Western Mineing Action project) argues our case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before a three judge panel.
Listen to the June 10, 2009 hearing
December 3, 2009, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, which had denied the motion for preliminary injunction filed by the plaintiffs, and issued its ruling enjoining the construction and operation of the Cortez Hills gold mine, proposed by Barrick Gold Corporation.
The Bureau of Land management and Barrick Gold corp. has 45 days from December 3, 2009 to request an en banc reconsideration of the Ninth Circuit decision, and Barrick can and is continuing to mine at Mt. Tenabo in the meantime.
