Lawsuit challenges permit for BNSF rail hub in Johnson County
(The following story by Brad Cooper appeared on the Kansas City Star website on January 7, 2010.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. A coalition of environmental groups and several individuals is challenging a federal permit that would open the door for massive rail hub in southwest Johnson County.
The Hillsdale Environmental Loss Prevention Inc., the Kansas Natural Resource Council and five others filed a lawsuit today asking a judge to set aside the permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the BNSF rail yard proposed near Gardner.
Among other things, the federal lawsuit contends that the corps underestimated emissions from the rail yard and a neighboring warehouse complex thats expected to draw large volumes of truck traffic.
It also contends that the corps failed to adequately quantify the cancer risk and other respiratory diseases that might arise from pollutants coming from the project.
The suit also charges that the corps failed to adequately address and mitigate the threats posed to Hillsdale Lake, a drinking water source for thousands of families in Miami and Johnson counties.
The plaintiffs argue that the corps should have done a deeper and broad environmental impact study in lieu of the environmental assessment that was done by the corps.
BNSFs proposed rail yard coupled with a neighboring warehouse complex is one of the metro areas biggest economic development projects and promises to create thousands of new jobs.
However, BNSF is awaiting word on whether it will secure $50 million from one of the last remaining pots of stimulus money for transportation.
Its unclear how a lawsuit at this time might affect that application because the federal government is looking to fund transportation projects that are ready to break ground.
