Description: Challenge to Federal Railroad Administration's approval of a "Rule of Particular Applicability" for a high-speed rail technology proposed for use in Texas.
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Texans Against High-Speed Rail, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Transportation
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/18/2021 Motion Download Motion for voluntary dismissal filed by plaintiffs. 04/14/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuit Challenging High-Speed Rail Rule Cited Failure to Consider Impacts Associated with Increasing Rainfall. In a lawsuit challenging the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) approval of a “Rule of Particular Applicability” for a high-speed rail technology proposed for use in Texas, the plaintiffs included a claim under the National Environmental Policy Act that alleges that the defendants failed to consider how the potential rail project’s design would account for increasing rainfall levels resulting from climate change. The plaintiffs alleged that “every flood plain crossing, wetland area, creek crossing, and drainage swell” would be affected by increased rainfall events and that despite the project being “essentially a levee extending across 240 miles of rural countryside,” the FRA failed to disclose hydrologic impacts on properties along the route.