What’s more, BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not properly evaluating potential impacts to the national trail system from encouraging solar applications within trail boundaries, the coalition, led by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said.
The administrative complaint focuses specifically on the 2,700-mile-long Old Spanish National Historic Trail, established by Congress in 2002 across six states. It includes routes that “pass through and are proximate to federal public land areas” deemed as appropriate for solar project applications in the plan, but that “must be managed in accordance with the mandates” of the National Trails System Act, the complaint says.
“BLM’s current proposal disregards the protection of a nationally significant historic trail that is supposed to be safeguarded by federal law,” said Chandra Rosenthal, PEER’s public lands director, in a statement. “Required protections should be in place before solar developments are permitted in these areas. This is blatant neglect of BLM’s statutory obligations.”