Perkins Coie California Land Use & Development Law Report – The Importance of Independence

The California Land Use & Development Law Report
Legal Commentary on Planning and Development
The Importance of Independence: The Ninth Circuit Provides Helpful Clarification on Connected Actions in the Energy Project Development Context

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a right-of-way for an access road over Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to connect a wind project to a state highway did not trigger formal consultation under the Endangered Species Act or NEPA review for the wind project because the proposed access road and the wind farm had independent utility from the proposed access road. Sierra Club v. Bureau of Land Management, 786 F.3d 1219 (9th Cir. 2015).

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