Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe et al v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al, No. 3:2021cv00512 - Document 71 (D. Nev. 2022)

Court Description: ORDER granting ECF No. 70 Stipulation to Extend Time re ECF No. 67 Order.1. Federal Defendants and Ormat shall each file a brief in support of their cross-motions for summary judgment and responding to Plaintiffs motion for summary jud gment (ECF No. 68 ) by October 28, 2022.2. Plaintiffs shall file a combined reply in support of their summary judgment motion and in response to Federal Defendants and Ormats cross-motions for summary judgment, which will be due on Dece mber 9, 2022.3. Federal Defendants' and Ormat's replies in support of their cross-motions for summary judgment will each be due on January 20, 2023. (See pdf Order for additional specifics.) Signed by Magistrate Judge Craig S. Denney on 10/11/2022. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - CJS)

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Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe et al v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al Doc. 71 Case 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD Document 71 Filed 10/11/22 Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Timothy A. Lukas, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 4678) Sarah C. Bordelon, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 14683) Erica K. Nannini, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 13922) Holland & Hart LLP 5441 Kietzke Lane, Suite 200 Reno, NV 89511 Telephone: (775) 327-3011 Fax: (775) 786-6179 tlukas@hollandhart.com scbordelon@hollandhart.com eknannini@hollandhart.com 10 HOLLAND & HART LLP 5441 KIETZKE LANE, SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89511-2094 11 12 13 14 15 Hadassah M. Reimer, Esq. (Wyo. Bar No. 6-3825) Admitted Pro Hac Vice Holland & Hart LLP P.O. Box 68 Jackson, WY 83001 Tel: 307-734-4517 Fax: 307-739-9544 hmreimer@hollandhart.com Laura R. Jacobsen, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 13699) Ormat Technologies, Inc. 6140 Plumas Street Reno, NV 89519 Tel: 775-356-9029 Fax: 775-356-9039 ljacobsen@ormat.com Attorneys for Defendant Ormat Nevada Inc. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA THE FALLON PAIUTE-SHOSHONE TRIBE 16 and the CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, 17 Plaintiffs, 18 v. 19 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 20 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, JAKE 21 VIALPANDO in his official capacity as Field Manager of the Bureau of Land Management 22 Stillwater Field Office, and ORMAT NEVADA INC., 23 Defendants. 24 Case No. 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD JOINT STIPULATION AMENDING SCHEDULING ORDER 25 26 27 28 Dockets.Justia.com HOLLAND & HART LLP 5441 KIETZKE LANE, SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89511-2094 Case 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD Document 71 Filed 10/11/22 Page 2 of 6 1 Plaintiffs Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe (“FPST”) and the Center for Biological Diversity 2 (“CBD”), Federal Defendants U.S. Department of the Interior, et al. (“Federal Defendants”), and 3 Defendant Ormat Nevada, Inc. (“Ormat”) (together, the “Parties”) have conferred and hereby 4 jointly submit the following stipulation and second amendment to the scheduling order, ECF 67, 5 for the Court’s consideration. 6 Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts affecting the availability of Defendants’ attorneys 7 and unanticipated absences of federal agency staff, the Parties have agreed to extend the briefing 8 schedule as set out below. Ormat also commits as part of this stipulation that it will temporarily 9 pause construction of the Phase I power plant either until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 10 issues a Biological Opinion for the Project thereby concluding the Section 7 consultation 11 process, or until February 28, 2023, whichever is sooner. 12 1. Federal Defendants and Ormat shall each file a brief in support of their cross- 13 motions for summary judgment and responding to Plaintiffs’ motion for 14 summary judgment by October 28, 2022. Federal Defendants’ brief and Ormat’s 15 brief shall each be limited to 45 pages. Federal Defendants and/or Ormat may 16 also file a motion to strike concerning the admission of extra-record evidence 17 concurrently with their combined responses/motions for summary judgment. If 18 filed, the motion(s) to strike shall be limited to 15 pages. 19 2. Plaintiffs shall file a combined reply in support of their summary judgment 20 motion and in response to Federal Defendants’ and Ormat’s cross-motions for 21 summary judgment, which will be due on December 9, 2022. Plaintiffs’ brief 22 shall be limited to 60 pages. If a motion to strike is filed, Plaintiffs may respond 23 concurrently with their reply/response. Plaintiffs’ response opposing the 24 motion(s) to strike shall be limited to 15 pages. 25 3. Federal Defendants’ and Ormat’s replies in support of their cross-motions for 26 summary judgment will each be due on January 20, 2023, and each will be 27 limited to 45 pages. If a motion to strike is filed, Federal Defendants and/or 28 Ormat may reply concurrently with their reply in support of their cross-motions 1 Case 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD Document 71 Filed 10/11/22 Page 3 of 6 1 for summary judgment. Replies in support of a motion to strike shall be limited 2 to 10 pages. HOLLAND & HART LLP 5441 KIETZKE LANE, SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89511-2094 3 4. Plaintiffs do not waive any claims under the ESA or Religious Freedom 4 Restoration Act (“RFRA”) which may not be resolved on summary judgment 5 due to unresolved issues of material fact. Plaintiffs take the position that because 6 the ESA and RFRA each provide their own cause of action, claims under these 7 statutes are not limited in scope by the APA and thus may not be limited to the 8 administrative record compiled by the agency. Federal Defendants take the 9 position that ESA Claims against them are record-review claims governed by 10 both the scope and standard of the APA that do not present any unresolved 11 issues of material fact. Further, Federal Defendants and Ormat take the position 12 that summary judgment and the briefing schedule set forth above can resolve all 13 claims in Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint. 1 14 In light of the Parties’ commitment to the briefing schedule outlined herein, and Ormat’s 15 intention to suspend construction until either completion of the Section 7 consultation process or 16 until February 28, 2023, the Parties respectfully request expedited review by the Court, with a 17 decision on the merits before the end of February 2023. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 Federal Defendants also take the position that because Plaintiffs’ APA claims challenge a final agency action, those claims in this case should be decided based on the Administrative Record compiled by Federal Defendants. However, should the Court find that the introduction of extrarecord evidence is appropriate, the Parties do not waive their right to seek discovery regarding the RFRA and ESA claims. 2 Case 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD Document 71 Filed 10/11/22 Page 4 of 6 1 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 7th day of October, 2022. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 HOLLAND & HART LLP 5441 KIETZKE LANE, SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89511-2094 11 By: /s/ Erica K. Nannini Timothy A. Lukas, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 4678) Sarah C. Bordelon, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 14683) Erica K. Nannini, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 13922) Holland & Hart LLP 5441 Kietzke Lane, Suite 200 Reno, NV 89511 Telephone: (775) 327-3011 Fax: (775) 786-6179 tlukas@hollandhart.com scbordelon@hollandhart.com eknannini@hollandhart.com Hadassah M. Reimer, Esq. (Wyo. Bar No. 6-3825) Holland & Hart LLP P.O. Box 68 Jackson, WY 83001 Tel: 307-734-4517 Fax: 307-739-9544 hmreimer@hollandhart.com 12 13 14 15 16 17 Laura R. Jacobsen, Esq. (Nevada Bar No. 13699) Ormat Technologies, Inc. 6140 Plumas Street Reno, NV 89519 Tel: 775-356-9029 Fax: 775-356-9039 ljacobsen@ormat.com 18 19 20 21 22 Attorneys for Defendant-Intervenor Ormat Nevada Inc. 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 Case 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD Document 71 Filed 10/11/22 Page 5 of 6 1 Gordon H. De Paoli Woodburn and Wedge PO Box 2311 Reno, NV 89505 Phone: 775-688-3000 Fax: 775-688-3088 Email: gdepaoli@woodburnandwedge.com 2 3 4 5 /s/ Wyatt Golding Wyatt Golding Ziontz Chestnut 2101 4th Avenue Suite 1230 Seattle, WA 98121 Phone: 206-448-1230 Email: wgolding@ziontzchestnut.com 6 7 8 9 10 /s/ Scott Lake Scott Lake Center for Biological Diversity P. O. Box 6205 Reno, NV 89513 Phone 802-299-7495 Email: slake@biologicaldiversity.org HOLLAND & HART LLP 5441 KIETZKE LANE, SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89511-2094 11 12 13 14 Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Appellees - Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and Center for Biological Diversity 15 16 17 Sara E. Costello U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division PO Box 7611 Washington, D.C. 20044-7611 Phone: 202-305-0484 Email: sara.costello2@usdoj.gov 18 19 20 21 /s/ Esosa Aimufua Esosa Aimufua U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section 150 M. Street, NE, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20002 Phone: 202-532-3818 Email: esosa.aimufua@usdoj.gov 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4 Case 3:21-cv-00512-RCJ-CSD Document 71 Filed 10/11/22 Page 6 of 6 1 Kamela A. Caschette U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division Wildlife and Marine Resources Section 150 M. Street, NE, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20002 Phone: 202-305-0340 Email: kamela.caschette@usdoj.gov 2 3 4 5 6 Holly A. Vance U.S. Attorney’s Office 400 S. Virginia Street, Suite 900 Reno, NV 89501 Phone: 775-784-5438 Email: Holly.A.Vance@usdoj.gov 7 8 9 10 Attorneys for Defendants/Appellants - U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and Jake Vialpando in his official capacity as Field Manager of the Bureau of Land Management Stillwater Field Office HOLLAND & HART LLP 5441 KIETZKE LANE, SUITE 200 RENO, NV 89511-2094 11 12 13 14 ORDER 15 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 DATED: October 11, 2022. 18 19 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 5

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