Lawsuit Challenges Company’s Failure to Defend Imperiled Wildlife From Marine Freeway Program
Lawsuit Challenges Company’s Failure to Defend Imperiled Wildlife From Marine Freeway Program
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Middle for Organic Variety filed a lawsuit right this moment towards the U.S. Division of Transportation’s Maritime Administration for failing to make sure that protected species will not be jeopardized by the America’s Marine Freeway Program. This system seeks to increase delivery on main rivers and coastal areas in Washington, Oregon, Virginia and different states the place listed species are in danger.
“By funding the enlargement of barge visitors of their habitat, the Maritime Administration is placing extremely endangered species like Atlantic sturgeon and Chinook salmon in danger,” stated Jared Margolis, a senior legal professional on the Middle. “Quite than preserve their heads within the sand, federal officers want to make sure that any effort to extend vessel visitors received’t jeopardize imperiled wildlife.”
The America’s Marine Freeway Program goals to increase the usage of the nation’s navigable waters for delivery by selling and funding the enlargement of vessel visitors on marine highways, which embody main rivers such because the James, Columbia and Hudson in addition to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This system offers grants to buy barges — recognized to hurt protected species by way of collisions, spills of gas or chemical compounds — and increase transport of fossil fuels, thereby contributing to the local weather disaster.
“Vessel visitors is decimating susceptible wildlife within the James River and throughout the nation,” stated Margolis. “Federal officers can’t preserve sacrificing our waters and wildlife by ignoring the impacts of a program that has the potential to trigger widespread hurt.”
Immediately’s lawsuit challenges the Maritime Administration’s failure to conduct required Endangered Species Act session with wildlife companies on its efforts to increase vessel visitors within the James River in Virginia, in addition to its failure to undertake a complete evaluation of the Marine Freeway Program by way of programmatic session. This system has supplied thousands and thousands of {dollars} to increase barge visitors within the James River, the place vessel collisions are threatening the restoration of Atlantic sturgeon, a extremely endangered species.
The Maritime Administration has paid out for dozens of such tasks throughout the nation and just lately introduced that almost $11 million has been made accessible for grants in 2021. Session with wildlife companies is essential for limiting the hurt carried out to endangered species by the tasks the company funds.
