The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to obtain a South Carolina pollution control permit for its controversial project to deepen the Savannah River, according to a lawsuit filed today in state court by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Georgia and South Carolina conservation groups.
The House of Representatives majority leadership released a sweeping transportation bill yesterday that would upend long-accepted practices for how the nation's highways, bridges are planned and built, gutting basic environmental safeguards for air and water quality and green space, and deepening our dependence on oil.
Virginians for High Speed Rail, the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce jointly released a report outlining the importance of Virginia's six roundtrip intercity regional trains and requesting the General Assembly's support to continue and improve these services.
Georgia and South Carolina conservation groups today challenged a South Carolina agency’s approval of a $650 million project to deepen the Savannah River and warned Governor Haley not to destroy evidence concerning her office’s involvement in the matter.
The Alabama Department of Transportation is attempting an end-run around federal law by pursuing permits for one section of the proposed Northern Beltline in the face of persistent questions about whether the beltline as a whole merits a multi-billion dollar investment by federal taxpayers, and while a lawsuit challenging the beltline's environmental study is pending, two local groups say.
Environmental groups filed an appeal in federal court today saying that last week's ruling by a district court judge did not take into consideration important factors that are critical to their legal challenge of the Monroe Bypass.
An analysis released today of previous traffic studies for the proposed Route 29 bypass in Albemarle County confirms that the highway will not solve traffic congestion on Route 29, and urges federal and state transportation officials to focus on alternative solutions.
The Virginia Department of Transportation last night issued a "request for proposals" for the design and construction of the highly controversial Western Route 29 Bypass in the Charlottesville-Albemarle community. The RFP was issued prematurely, since the agency is months away from getting critical, up-to-date information on traffic levels, tailpipe pollution and other community impacts that could reaffirm the folly of proceeding with the project or result in dramatic alterations to it.
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors had an opportunity yesterday to begin to correct their approach to pursuing construction of the 29 bypass, but chose instead to continue rushing the project through with blinders on.
Despite this summer's rush job by local and state officials to push through the long-dormant, controversial western bypass of U.S. 29, the project is far from a done deal, two leading conservation organizations said today.
Conservation groups today called on the North Carolina Department of Transportation to rethink its plan for replacing Bonner Bridge at its current location and instead build a safer, more reliable access route for Outer Banks residents and tourists after the ocean created multiple new inlets and destroyed sections of N.C. Highway 12 during Hurricane Irene, cutting off the barrier island again right before a holiday weekend. Storms continue to prove the warnings by NCDOT consultants, federal agencies, and university scientists that over wash is inevitable for stretches of N.C. Highway 12 within and near Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
On August 23, when news became public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had informed the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that it was reconsidering its approval of the proposed Monroe Bypass, the agency sent another letter to the FHWA appearing to back away from that position but still expressing serioius concerns about the project.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has informed federal and state agencies that it is reconsidering its approval of the proposed Monroe Bypass near Charlotte due to misinformation in the environmental analysis concluding there would be virtually no impact on water quality. Without the agency's sign-off, the project cannot move forward.
Two local groups have asked the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to remove the Northern Beltline from the proposed four-year funding plan because of the project's ballooning price tag, questionable economic benefits and harmful effects on the environment.
"SELC and most others in this community believe the 29 bypass is the wrong project for solving traffic on Route 29, but one thing nearly everyone agrees on is that it shouldn't go forward without ironclad commitments from the state to fund and advance key local transportation priorities."
Building the 29 Bypass as it is currently designed will make it much more complicated and costly to build Berkmar Drive Extended, one of Albemarle County's top priorities to reduce traffic on Route 29, according to a report released today by the Southern Environmental Law Center.
In a letter to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors today, the Southern Environmental Law Center set forth the county's obligations to clarify and formally vote on commitments the state would have to meet before construction funding would be allowed to flow for the controversial 29 Bypass.
Citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, today filed suit against Panama-based Carnival Cruise Lines to enforce local laws that protect the city’s healthy environment and treasured historic assets.
In violation of federal law, the state Department of Transportation failed to fully account for the environmental impacts of the massive, high-priced Northern Beltline, conservation groups said in a lawsuit filed today in federal district court in Montgomery.
Environmental groups today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court seeking an immediate halt to any further action by the N.C. Department of Transportation on the proposed Monroe Bypass near Charlotte, including the issuance of bonds.
Housing affordability is a critical challenge throughout Virginia—a challenge heightened by the recent recession and continuing economic turmoil, as well as problems with transportation and sprawl development, according to a report released today by Housing Virginia and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The environmental study by the state Department of Transportation for the proposed extension of I-526 distorts relevant data, skews the analysis of alternatives, and is heavily biased in favor of building the 8-mile, $489 million highway through wetlands, marshes and rural communities, making the study illegal, two conservation groups said today.
The draft report released today by the South Carolina Department of Transportation, which describes the environmental impacts of the proposed Mark Clark Expressway, fails to consider alternatives that are far less harmful and less costly than building a major interstate through communities, open-space areas, and marshes west of the Ashley River in the Stono River watershed
The Departments of Transportation in Tennessee and North Carolina are now studying ways to complete the Corridor K project between Chattanooga and Asheville by improving existing roads instead of building stretches of new four-lane highway through mostly new terrain, a proposal which has drawn regionwide oppo
Six conservation groups today called on the NCDOT to build a safer, less-exposed emergency route for Outer Banks residents and tourists that is not dependent on the section of Highway 12 in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge which was washed out last week during the remnants of tropical storm Ida.
A federal judge declined to enjoin construction of a container shipping terminal in North Charleston for now, but agreed to expand a lawsuit challenging approvals of the terminal to include the FHWA as a defendant.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced it will re-evaluate the national limit for ozone pollution.
The results of an opinion survey of Watauga County voters released today shows strong support across the board for adopting local development policies to conserve natural areas and minimize landslide hazards.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the largest environmental advocacy organization dedicated solely to protecting the Southeast, today announced a list of ten special places in the South that face immediate, potentially irreparable threats in 2009.
A federal appeals court refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging South Carolina Department of Transportation studies endorsing a controversial bridge proposed for the Upper Santee Swamp.
Conservation groups today condemned the findings of a recent environmental study by the North Carolina Department of Transportation that a 10-mile section of the proposed Corridor K highway would have little environmental impact.
Tennessee's four largest metro areas rank among the top 25 in the country for having the highest level of global warming emissions per capita, according to a report released today examining the carbon footprint of U.S. urban centers.