Organizers of the beloved desert festival, Burning Man, are suing the U.S. Government. They have filed a federal lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The festival is held annually at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where they create a temporary spiritual city. They have had their fair share of tiffs with the BLM.
This year they announced they would be limiting the cultural gathering to 80,000 people over the next 10 years. This was basically forced onto them by the BLM due to environmental concerns. Now, Burning Man is demanding that the government honor its appeals process in relation to costs that it imposes at the event. They want to receive $18 million in permit costs levied onto them since 2015. They had this to say about the situation:
“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.”
Burning Man has had its fair share of issues over the years. Last year someone died due to carbon monoxide. In 2017, a man died by running into an art exhibit on fire. While these aren’t related to the BLM’s costs levied onto Burning Man, they do show the negative side of the festival. On a lighter note check out some photos from this year’s Burning Man! If you want to read the full suit you can check that out here.
