Tribe’s Geothermal Lease Suit Advances Against Land Agency (1)

California’s Pit River Tribe and other regional nonprofit groups advanced their legal challenge to the federal government’s failure to cancel a geothermal lease because of the alleged lack of diligent exploration by Calpine Corp., the leaseholder.

One of the interests protected by the Geothermal Steam Act is ensuring leases are used so public lands aren’t tied up indefinitely, according to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The American Indian tribe and other plaintiffs, as neighbors with an interest in using the land, are therefore “arguably within the zone of interest to be protected by the statute,” ...