PSC/PH1A, and CBD file Federal Lawsuit against Highway 1 widening

From the Center of Biological Diversity/News Room, 5/8/15, Breaking News and "Last 10 Press Releases", including their lawsuits." 

For Immediate Release, May 8, 2015

Contact:

Peter Loeb, Pacificans for a Scenic Coast, (650) 438-6714, peterloeb1@gmail.com Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 499-9185, jmiller@biologicaldiversity.org

Lawsuit Targets Pacifica Highway Project Threatening Wetlands, Rare Species, Views

"Because lawsuits are good",
and toads mean really good for CBD.

"SAN FRANCISCO— Resident and conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the California Department of Transportation and other agencies challenging the approval of the Calera Parkway Project, a proposed highway widening in Pacifica, Calif. The Caltrans project would more than double the width of the existing state Highway 1 for a 1.3-mile portion of the roadway in Pacifica, at a projected cost of more than $50 million, while hurting wetlands, endangered species and their habitats, coastal views and archaeological sites. The plaintiffs are Pacificans for a Scenic Coast, Pacificans for Highway 1 Alternatives and the Center for Biological Diversity.
 
....  The highway widening project — proposed by the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and the city of Pacifica — would require permanent removal of numerous trees, construction of 4,100 feet of retaining walls, some as high as 22 feet, and hillside excavations up to 1,000 feet long, 60 feet deep and 60 feet wide, involving removal and disposal of 3.7 million cubic feet of soil. Project construction is estimated to last two years.

The project approval by Caltrans and federal agencies violates the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Federal Transportation Act, National Environmental Policy Act and Coastal Zone Management Act. Caltrans proposes construction staging on top of endangered and threatened species habitats; the project will likely harm California red-legged frogs and San Francisco garter snakes through harassment, injury, mortality and habitat loss and degradation. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 75 acres of suitable garter snake and red-legged frog habitat occur within the project action area."  Read more.

Note photograph/caption:  toad eating bat by Yufani Olaya/Peru Nature.com, article from National Geographic/Weird & Wild/Christine Dell'Amore, 9/25/13.  Spoof on CBD frog and moto "Because life is good", (whereas not fixing our highway traffic congestion is not good for our City and Regional infrastructure).  Also note:  Pacificans for Scenic Coast  (lawsuit) is a project of  Pacifica Environmental Family.

Posted by Kathy Meeh