SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s government rejected an $8 billion proposal to dam Patagonian rivers to meet the country’s growing energy demands, handing a victory to environmentalists who praised Tuesday’s ruling as a landmark moment.

A ministerial commission rejected the HidroAysen plan, which would have tamed two of the world’s wildest rivers and built more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of power lines to supply energy to central Chile.

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