Description: Lawsuit alleging that the Federal Highway Administration conducted an inadequate review for a proposed 280-mile interstate corridor in southern Arizona.
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Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection v. Federal Highway Administration
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/20/2022 Stipulation Download Joint stipulation filed dismissing plaintiffs' Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act claim. 08/05/2022 Motion to Dismiss Download Motion filed by defendants for partial dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. 04/21/2022 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Conservation Groups Challenged Reviews for Southern Arizona Highway Project. Four conservation groups filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Arizona alleging that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) had conducted an inadequate review for a proposed 280-mile interstate corridor in southern Arizona. Climate change-related allegations included that FHWA failed to quantify and analyze greenhouse gas emissions from increased traffic, construction and long-term maintenance of the project, suburban and exurban development spurred by the project, and an increase in idling trucks at the Mexico border. In addition, the complaint alleged a failure to examine “the cumulative effects of the wildfire risk and climate change on the integrity of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem.” The complaint asserted violations of NEPA, Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, and the Administrative Procedure Act.