Burning Man is suing the U.S. Federal Government
$18 million in permit costs levied against the festival since 2015
Burning Man is suing the U.S. federal government.
Organisers of the event, which is held annually at Black Rock City in Nevada, have launched a federal lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) demanding that the goverment honor its appeals process in relation to costs that it imposes at the event. It equates to a total of $18 million in permit costs levied against the festival since 2015.
The event claimed that it was being harmed by "costs imposed by Defendant Winnemucca District Office for the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"), the process by which those costs have been demanded, the inadequate justification for the costs, and the unreasonable delay confronted by BRC [Black Rock City LLC, which throws the event] during the appeal of those costs."
In a separate statement, the Burning Man Project said the suit was necessary. "BLM has been charging our organization for unreasonable costs related to the annual Burning Man event in Northern Nevada," the statement read.
It continued: "Burnng Man Project has been seeking IBLA relief from these costs for nearly four years, and the IBLA has unreasonably denied that relief in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. This case is our attempt to break this cycle."
The full suit can be read here.
A 33-year-old man died at last year's outing.
