A coalition of environmental groups has sued the federal government over the creation of transmission corridors that will perpetuate the use of coal-fired power throughout the West.

The lawsuit against the Interior, Agriculture and Energy departments filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California charges that the agencies “created a sprawling, hopscotch network of 6,000 miles of rights-of-way” without:

* considering environmental impacts;
* analyzing alternatives;
* weighing federal policies that support renewable energy;
* ensuring the corridors’ consistency with federal and local land-use plans, and;
* consulting other federal agencies or Western states and local governments.

The coalition, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Wilderness Society and San Miguel County, Colorado charges that the federal government violated several laws in creating the so-called West Wide Energy Corridor, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act.

Katie Renshaw, an Earthjustice attorney who helped lead the suit, told E&E News that the groups are hoping the Obama administration will decide not to defend the corridors and to instead sit down and discuss a possible settlement. She said the goals of the group and of the administration are in sync.

“In order to develop solar and wind, you have to have transmission to connect that to the cities and the need,” Renshaw said. “It’s a really good opportunity, a good shift from old dirty energy to new clean energy.”

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit Tuesday hope to stop the plan before it is implemented and point to the Western Governors’ Association’s Western Renewable Energy Zone Initiative as a better alternative.

Reprinted with permission from Red Green and Blue