SunZia Transmission Case Survives Timing Issue on Appeal (1)

Tribes and environmental groups on Tuesday were successful in convincing the Ninth Circuit that their challenge to the Interior Department’s approval of the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project wasn’t time barred.

The final agency action was when construction of the project began, so the groups’ challenge is “reviewable and timely” under the Administrative Procedure Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said.

The appellate court reversed and remanded the district court’s decision dismissing the case for failing to state a claim.

Groups including the Tohono O’odham Nation and Center for Biological Diversity in 2024 ...