US to reopen review of Nevada geothermal plant near endangered toad while legal battle is on hold

RENO, Nev. (AP) — In a reversal that marks a significant victory for conservationists, federal officials have decided to “revisit” the 2021 environmental review that cleared the way for construction of a geothermal power plant in Nevada where an endangered toad lives. 

Environmentalists and tribal leaders suing to block the project said the move will trigger an unprecedented third review of the partially built power plant that they say the Bureau of Land Management illegally approved in December 2021.  

“This vindicates what we've been saying for years,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The federal government’s environmental review was flawed and it never should’ve approved the project." 

Justice Department lawyers representing the bureau didn't specify in court documents last week whether the agency intends to conduct a supplemental analysis of the potential impacts of the project or scrap the previous review and initiate an entirely new one required under the National Environmental Policy Act. They also didn't say what prompted the agency to reverse its earlier position that additional review was unnecessary.