US court rejects a request by tribes to block $10B energy transmission project in Arizona

A federal judge has rejected a request by Native American tribes and environmentalists to stop work on a $10 billion electricity transmission line slated to run through a remote valley in southern Arizona. The judge issued her ruling Tuesday after hearing oral arguments weeks ago on Pattern Energy’s SunZia transmission project. It will carry electricity from wind farms in New Mexico to more populated markets in Arizona and California. Critics had accused the U.S. Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management of failing to recognize the cultural significance of the San Pedro Valley to several Native American tribes.