Amicus Brief Filed in Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Blackrock Land Exchange Case
May 15, 2025
For the past few years, Snake River Waterkeeper has been working with a broad coalition of advocacy groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance and a host of other water advocacy groups to provide legal support to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in their ongoing case against Simplot, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over their unlawful Blackrock Land Exchange Agreement.
The Agreement would allow Simplot to expand its Don Fertilizer Plant, which produces a toxic waste byproduct called phosphogypsum — a radioactive substance and known carcinogen. In 2022, SRW and our partners filed an amicus brief in support of the Tribes’ case, which alleged decades of illegal, hazardous pollution discharges at the Plant. In the spring of 2023, the Idaho Federal District Court upheld the Tribes’ claims and handed down a strong victory holding that the proposed Blackrock Land Exchange violates federal law.
BLM failed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to adequately consider public interest and fair appraisal of lands before granting Simplot a use permit. The agency also neglected to take a hard look at alternative design options when planning the land exchange for the gypstack expansion, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. Finally, BLM neglected to uphold the 1900 Act — an agreement between the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the federal government that protects the Tribes’ rights to land and water that is safe to pasture, hunt and fish.
Rather than admitting wrongdoing and agreeing to clean up its act, Simplot appealed the case to the 9th Circuit. We have been working with the Tribes over the past year to further support their claims, and after a months-long delay the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently granted our coalition leave to once again file an amicus brief on behalf of the Tribes.