Wilderness Society v U.S. Department of the Interior

Fourteen environmental nonprofit groups sued the Department of Interior, alleging that it violated NEPA and other environmental laws in designating 6,000 miles of electricity transmission corridors on public lands in the West. The corridors were designated in January 2009, just one week before former President Bush left office. The plan covers 3.2 million acres of federal lands in 11 western states and creates a network of right-of-ways known as the “West-Wide Energy Corridor.” The plaintiffs allege that the plan ignores the renewable electricity standards that have been adopted by 9 of the 11 states, which call for the increased use of the region’s wind, solar and geothermal resources. The lawsuit alleges that the plan failed to consider the environmental impacts or analyze alternatives.