Feds Must Act on Status of Rare Wildflower Near Lithium Mine (1)

摘要

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 30 days to decide whether to list the Tiehm's buckwheat as endangered under federal law, a Nevada federal court ruled in a win for a group challenging an ioneer Corp. mining project's impact on the flower. The Center for Biological Diversity, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, sufficiently showed an "emergency posing a significant risk to the well-being" of the rare wildflower under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The plant is located at the site of ioneer's proposed open-pit lithium and boron mine, which would destroy up to 90% of the plant's population in western Nevada, the group says. An estimated 40% of the species was mysteriously damaged or destroyed between July and September 2020. The Fish and Wildlife Service said on July 22, 2020, that the group provided "substantial information" that protecting the wildflower "may be warranted," but it didn't issue an emergency listing. The ESA says only the Secretary of the Interior can bypass the usual listing procedures in emergency situations, the court said. Therefore, the group had no right to petition the agency for an emergency listing, according to Wednesday's ruling.