Background
Congress passed the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act in 2014, directing the Forest Service to transfer nearly 2,500 acres of National Forest land, including Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper Mining LLC in exchange for over 5,000 acres of federal land. Plaintiffs, including the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmental groups, challenged the exchange under the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, seeking to block the project via a preliminary injunction.
The court’s reasoning
The panel held that while plaintiffs had standing, they failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims. The court found the environmental impact statement reviewable as final agency action but insufficient to show NEPA violations. Claims under the National Historic Preservation Act regarding consultation were also deemed unlikely to succeed. The religious liberty claims under RFRA and the Free Exercise Clause were foreclosed by existing precedent. Consequently, the court did not reach other preliminary injunction factors.
Because Plaintiffs failed to show a likelihood of success on, or even serious questions regarding, any of their claims, the panel did not reach any of the other preliminary injunction factors and affirmed the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against the land exchange.
Opinion at 6
The dissent
Judge Rawlinson will dissent on the appraisal issue.
Johnnie B. Rawlinson
What it means going forward
The land exchange proceeding continues as planned, allowing the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper Mining LLC pending further litigation or legislative action.