A massive power line through the Sandhills won approval. It’s still going nowhere — for now.

Despite recent federal and state approval, construction of a controversial 226-mile transmission line is once again paused in parts of the Sandhills — the latest stumbling block in a 14-year battle.

A federal judge issued a partial preliminary injunction on June 8 in response to a lawsuit brought by local ranchers, historic organizations and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. They’re seeking to block the 345-kilovolt electric transmission line proposed by the Nebraska Public Power District.

Known as the R-Project, the line is “critical to safeguarding the reliability of the central Nebraska power grid,” according to NPPD. But the project sparked opposition from the moment it was proposed in 2012 and has been repeatedly delayed by lawsuits and permitting processes. 

The project appeared to have cleared those hurdles in February when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted NPPD an incidental take permit, which authorizes the utility to perform work that could harm threatened or endangered species — in this case the threatened American burying beetle. 

Fish and Wildlife granted that permit under an expedited emergency review process, citing an executive order from President Donald Trump that declared an open-ended national energy emergency. 

The group of landowners, nonprofits and other stakeholders — who had successfully challenged an earlier version of the permit — sued in March. 

As both sides made their initial arguments, NPPD appeared to clear another hurdle, with the Nebraska Public Service Commission voting to approve the project in early June.

The utility moved ahead with construction on some of the substations that would be served by the R-Project — but not on any part of the transmission line itself. In a filing, the utility estimated it would lose $100 million if it had to stop all construction now and the project was delayed for one year.

But in her June 8 ruling temporarily blocking the federal permit, Judge Nina Y. Wang wrote that those losses are self-inflicted as a result of NPPD ““jump(ing) the gun” on construction despite the lawsuit, but did not prevent NPPD from continuing some work.

While NPPD is disappointed in the court’s decision, CEO Tom Kent said in a statement to the Flatwater Free Press that it remains committed to pursuing the R‑Project “to meet Nebraska’s electricity transmission needs.”

“NPPD has reviewed the preliminary injunction and plans to begin construction of the R-Project in locations that are not American burying beetle habitat,” Kent said. “Crews will start working in the Gerald Gentleman Station area near Sutherland and work their way north toward Stapleton.”

NPPD said it anticipates it will take approximately two years to complete construction on the R-Project once it receives a full notice to proceed. The project is estimated to cost  $855 million. 

“Now more than ever, the R-Project is critical to ensuring reliable power transmission in north central Nebraska,” Kent said. “For 14 years, NPPD has worked tirelessly to permit the R-Project with reasonable and appropriate environmental controls.”

Under the National Historic Preservation Act, Fish and Wildlife is required to review historic and culturally significant sites that the R-Project might affect alongside the environmental impact. Nebraska’s Sandhills hold archaeological sites, burial grounds from tribes and wagon ruts from the Oregon and Mormon trails near the proposed line. 

Since the summer of 2023, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Oregon-California Trails Association and other organizations had been consulting on the R-Project and making good progress, said William Eubanks, an attorney representing the petitioners.

In February, that process abruptly ended, Eubanks said. 

“It was a shock to everyone,” he said. “Everyone thought that they were moving in a good direction, and then you know they got notice that the process was being halted.”

In a press release announcing the decision, Fish and Wildlife said the expedited approval would allow a critical project designed to “deliver affordable, dependable energy to Nebraska’s thousands of families and businesses” to move forward.

In the preliminary injunction order, Judge Wang wrote that the public has a strong interest in reliable energy, but the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is a sovereign nation with strong interest in protecting its history and culture, which could face irreparable harm. 

“Petitioners having the ability to monitor the construction — as it is already ongoing — at a few discrete locations along a 226-mile route is not the same as having the right to identify properties and having a role in resolving adverse effects prior to construction,” Wang wrote.

NPPD has made adjustments to its plans in recent years, including a 1-mile diversion to avoid O’Fallon’s Bluff, a historic site, and a commitment to marking the entire R-Project with diverters to reduce the risk of birds hitting the line.

Opposition to the transmission line remains strong inside and outside of the state, said Brent Steffen, whose Sandhills ranch, Horseshoe Bar Ranch, is part of the lawsuit.

The line will cross a half-mile section on the eastern edge of Steffen’s property, he said. He won’t sign an easement, and he estimates that owners of about 40 miles of the land along the line also haven’t signed.

There’s no question that north-central Nebraska has problems with electricity reliability, Steffen said, but he wants to see them fixed without damaging the Sandhills.

“For the past 10 years, I think NPPD has probably hoped opposition would wane and lose interest and fall away,” Steffen said. “That has not happened at all.”