DC Federal Court Denies Preliminary Injunction To Stop Rail Tunnel Reconstruction
On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a non-profit organization’s bid for a preliminary injunction to stop the District of Columbia Department of Transportation from issuing the necessary permits for reconstruction of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel to begin. The tunnel is a 111-year old rail tunnel running under Capitol Hill in D.C. and is a significant freight bottleneck on the East Coast. The non-profit contended that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in numerous respects by failing to adequately assess potential environmental harms of the proposed reconstruction. The non-profit argued that the agency improperly committed itself to the project before completing a necessary environmental review and failed to consider alternatives calling for rerouting trains around the city.
The court concluded that the non-profit could not meet the high bar for issuance of a preliminary injunction. The non-profit was able to show irreparable harm by proving that the reconstruction would require the cutting of 200 mature trees in the area. The court, however, concluded that the non-profit had not established a likelihood of success on the merits of establishing that the agency violated NEPA. The non-profit had argued that NEPA was violated in six ways: that the agency predetermined the selection of the Preferred Alternative prior to completing the NEPA review; the agency improperly segmented the project in order to minimize its environmental effects; the agency failed to examine the cumulative effect of the project; the agency disregarded foreseeable impacts of the project; the agency failed to consider reasonable alternatives; and that the agency relied on inaccurate information.
The court also found that the balance of equities and consideration of the public interest “tips decidedly” in the agency’s favor as the reconstruction of the tunnel would improve its safety and security and would greatly enhance the efficiency of both the freight and passenger rail system in the D.C. area.
