DENVER, CO – A lawsuit filed in a federal court could have ramifications on New York Regional Interconnection's planned 190 mile long power line from Oneida County to Orange County.

Three groups, California Wilderness Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council and The Wilderness Society Thursday filed the suit in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, contending the Energy Department violated the law when it designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors across huge areas of land in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest.

Wilderness Society Senior Counsel Nada Culver said the lawsuit was filed after the federal agency denied a rehearing into the designation.

 “We feel that the Department of Energy had a clear direction from Congress and also had a clear obligation to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act,” she said. “In both situations, the agency really should have looked at the actual effects of these designations on the ground and a real alternative to doing what they’ve done prior to just abrogating everyone’s authority over to the Department of Energy and to FERC to allow federal projects on all of our lands.”

The Mid-Atlantic NIETC would impact lands in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.

There is widespread opposition to the NYRI project.