BLM: SunZia transmission line construction to restart
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Land Management halted construction of a 520-mile wind energy transmission line stretching from New Mexico to central Arizona.
But the agency will now allow construction to resume in the San Pedro River Valley.
The BLM paused construction of the SunZia Southwest transmission project in the face of tribal and community objections to a 50-mile stretch of the line passing along the San Pedro River corridor.
Conservationists hail the San Pedro as the last free-flowing river in the Southwest and a biological goldmine for birds and other wildlife.
The BLM conducted a six-year environmental review for the transmission line, which will transmit power from renewable energy projects to Arizona and California.
After consulting with the tribes, the agency has decided that although it will continue to evaluate their objections, construction may move forward.
