Ormat has determined that its resources are more efficiently dedicated to Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation within the context of additional review under NEPA. Previously, Ormat had been defending litigation on the existing Project NEPA approval, while simultaneously undergoing ESA consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the Dixie Valley Toad.
Construction on the Dixie Meadows geothermal power project was initially halted in January 2022 following a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe citing local concerns about the environmental impact of the project. The ban was lifted by February 2022, but the project had stalled again by the end of the same year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared endangered species protection for the Dixie Valley toad, a species found only near the project site.
Ormat had previously announced the intention to downsize the Dixie Meadows project to minimize its impact on the endanger species.
The science assessed in the original NEPA review supports the BLM’s conclusion that geothermal development will not affect the Dixie Meadows hot springs or the area’s Dixie Valley Toad. Nonetheless, additional NEPA review will ensure a full public review and renewed consideration of the measures available to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any potential environmental impacts.
“Consistent with Ormat’s track record of environmental stewardship, we are confident that additional NEPA review will support responsible development of Dixie Meadows, and will ensure Ormat is taking the necessary steps to mitigate any environmental impact. Ormat looks forward to developing its geothermal leases in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies, and also with input from interested stakeholders, so that the Project can help mitigate the greatest environmental threat of all – climate change,” stated Doron Blachar, CEO of Ormat Technologies.
