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Environmental group warns BLM waivers and limited analysis raise concerns for Greenlink North and Robinson Substation
Summary
Center for Biological Diversity presenters urged White Pine County officials to engage in the supplemental EIS comment period, arguing the BLM waived seasonal timing restrictions and did not fully analyze key impacts; the group said final approval was expected in May with construction in 2027.
Megan Ortiz and Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity told the White Pine County Natural Resources Advisory Committee that Greenlink North and the associated expansion of Robinson Summit Substation raise unaddressed environmental risks. Donnelly argued the Bureau of Land Management had effectively allowed construction sequencing changes and timing waivers without adequate analysis, and urged local governments to participate in the supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) comment period.
"The sage grouse restrictions put in place in 2015 were important and restrictive to everyone else until these companies came along and suddenly, they could be waived," Donnelly said, summarizing his concern that past protections were being undercut. The presenters said a supplemental EIS would be issued after a 30-day public comment period, that accepted comments would be limited, and that the project could reach final approval as early as May, with construction anticipated in 2027. County staff thanked the presenters and noted the interplay between recent sage-grouse RMP changes and ongoing projects.
