Opinion
2:23-cv-1049-JAD-NJK
07-21-2023
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY and AMARGOSA CONSERVANCY, Plaintiffs, v. DEBRA HAALAND in her official capacity as Secretary of the Interior, TRACY STONEMANNING in her official capacity as the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, and NICHOLAS B. PAY in his official capacity as Field Manager of the Bureau of Land Management Pahrump Field Office, Defendants.
SCOTT LAKE NV Bar No. 15765 CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ROGER FLYNN CO Bar No. 21078 WESTERN MINING ACTION PROJECT Attorneys for Plaintiffs Shannon Boylan, Trial Attorney Natural Resources Section Environment and Natural Resources Division United States Department of Justice
SCOTT LAKE NV Bar No. 15765 CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ROGER FLYNN CO Bar No. 21078 WESTERN MINING ACTION PROJECT Attorneys for Plaintiffs Shannon Boylan, Trial Attorney Natural Resources Section Environment and Natural Resources Division United States Department of Justice
ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION WITHDRAWAL OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION MOTION
ECF Nos. 9, 14
Jennifer A. Dorsey, U.S. District Judge
Plaintiffs, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Amargosa Conservancy, along with the Federal Defendants, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, et al. (“BLM”), hereby jointly move for issuance by this Court of a stay of pending deadlines and withdrawal without prejudice of Plaintiffs' pending Motion for Preliminary Injunction and related matters in this case.
Plaintiffs filed their complaint on July 7, 2023, challenging BLM's review and acknowledgement of the notice submitted by Rover Metals (USA) Inc. (Rover) pursuant to 43 C.F.R. 3809.21 for its “Let's Go Lithium” exploration project (“Project”) (ECF No. 1). Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction on July 17, 2023 (ECF No. 9). Pursuant to the parties' Joint Motion governing the PI process, Federal Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' PI Motion is due July 24, 2023, and Plaintiffs' Reply is due July 28, 2023 (ECF No. 7).
Plaintiffs and the Federal Defendants dispute the terminology regarding BLM's actions regarding Rover's Notice of Intent, more specifically whether BLM “acknowledged” Rover's NOI or whether BLM “approved” operations under the NOI. However, that dispute does not affect this Joint Motion and need not be resolved due to the current situation.
On July 19, 2023, the Federal Defendants issued two Decisions to Rover: (1) RESCISSION OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF NOTICE AND REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN OF OPERATIONS (Decision #1); and (2) RESCISSION OF DETERMINATION OF REQUIRED FINANCIAL GUARANTEE FOR ONGOING OPERATIONS (Decision #2). Both Decisions are attached.
Because BLM has rescinded both its acknowledgment of the notice and rescinded the associated bond, Rover no longer has authorization to undertake the proposed exploration activities challenged by Plaintiffs in their Complaint and the Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Rover's operations cannot proceed.
Because BLM has rescinded its acknowledgment of the notice and rescinded the bond, no ground-disturbing activities can take place at this time; consequently, there is no current need for this Court to consider Plaintiffs' PI Motion. As noted in both Decisions, Rover has the right to administratively appeal or otherwise seek review of BLM's Decisions. In the event that Rover appeals or otherwise seeks review of BLM's Decisions, and if BLM's Decisions are stayed, overturned, or amended, the Project may return to its previous status and Plaintiffs may need to again seek preliminary injunctive relief from this Court. However, Plaintiffs hereby agree to withdraw their PI Motion, provided such withdrawal is without prejudice and with leave to refile a new or amended PI Motion, depending on whether there is any appeal or review of BLM's Decisions and the results of such an appeal or review. Plaintiffs also reserve the right to amend their Complaint accordingly.
The Federal Defendants have agreed to provide Plaintiffs' counsel with written notice, via email, of any appeal by Rover of BLM's Decisions. Such notice will be provided within 3 business days of BLM's receipt of any such appeal or action by Rover Metals.
Further, in light of BLM's Decisions, the parties request that the Federal Defendants' obligation to file their Answer to Plaintiffs' Complaint be stayed.
The parties propose to submit a Status Report within 60 days of this Court's approval of this Joint Motion, and will apprise the Court of any developments in the case.
Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the parties respectfully request that this Court adopt the parties' proposed plan and related matters in this case.
ORDER
The parties having shown good cause for their stipulated stay and the plaintiff's withdrawal of the pending motion for preliminary injunction as a result of post-filing developments, IT IS ORDERED that the joint motion [ECF No. 14] is GRANTED. The motion for preliminary injunction [ECF No. 9] is deemed withdrawn and all deadlines related to it are vacated. This action is STAYED for all purposes. The Clerk of Court is directed to ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSE THIS CASE. Status report is due in 60 days. Should any party desire further court action in this case, that party must file a motion to lift this stay.