An alliance of environmental activist groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, the Friends of Ironwood Forest and the Tucson Audubon Society have filed a federal lawsuit in Tucson looking to halt development of Interstate 11 between Nogales and Wickenburg.
They allege the Federal Highway Administration did not consider harm to the desert, wildlife and air quality when it approved the road’s route around the west side of Tucson. They claim those effects would be less severe if the highway were co-located with I-10 and I-19.
Even though interstates are, by definition, highways, the complaint also takes issue with the Administration rejection “of a rail or intermodal alternative” for the project.
The plaintiffs allege FWA skewed its evaluations against a no-build alternative and overestimated potential future travel, used inflated population growth estimates and ignored the benefits of possible passenger rail and other potential transportation projects for alleviating congestion. They also claim I-11 could create more congestion in the area if built as currently planned.
Among issues the plaintiffs claim the Administration’s Environmental Impact Statement failed to take into sufficient account are air pollution, climate change, wildlife disruption, wildfire risks and habitat, water contamination, and recreation and scenic values.
The Administration declined to comment, as the litigation is pending.
The lawsuit seeks to have the Administration’s existing decisions scrapped and to block it from proceeding with any next phases until an “adequate” Environmental Impact Statement is produced. (Source)