ANTLERS, Okla.— Despite massive public and tribal opposition, the Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation has refiled a study plan in its attempt to build massive reservoirs and power facilities on nearly 1,500 acres of habitat in southeast Oklahoma.

If completed, the project would siphon off up to 15% of the water from the Kiamichi River, which is relied on by more than 30 species of freshwater mussels and 100 fish species. These include three mussels protected under the Endangered Species Act, and one species of protected mussels that are culturally important to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — Ouachita rock pocketbook mussels — which would likely be driven extinct by the project.

“This project would be a disaster for the Kiamichi, its marvelous wildlife and the local communities that depend on the river for water, recreation, solace and refuge from hot days,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The reclusive mussels who will be harmed by this project play an important role in keeping the Kiamichi clean. We’re going to do everything we can to stop this risky project from moving forward.”

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Kiamichi River Legacy Alliance immediately filed comments and requests for action to reject the Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation’s faulty study proposals, which must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before the project can move forward. The latest study proposal fails to meet basic federal requirements and violates the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

As proposed, the project would include the construction of 76 miles of new transmission lines that would crisscross places where dozens of imperiled species live. Indiana and northern long-eared bats, American burying beetles, 34 species of amphibians, 20 aquatic reptiles and many migratory birds sit on the chopping block, as their homes would be bulldozed and clear-cut for construction.

Meanwhile, extraction from the Kiamichi River will also reduce the water quantity of the Kiamichi River basin, negatively impacting wells in the region. Residents within the basin who rely on well water could see their wells run dry if the headwaters of Long Creek are dammed to fill the project’s massive reservoirs. Local landowners have submitted more than 1,000 letters opposing the project and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Chickasaw Nation, as well as local legislators and Oklahoma’s Attorney General, all oppose it.