RTC joins fight against Sierra Club lawsuit

Stephen Curran

Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 | 9:47 a.m.

The Regional Transportation Commission on Thursday approved a plan to join the Federal Highway Administration in fighting a lawsuit that, if upheld, could derail the U.S. 95 widening project.

In the amicus, or "friend of the court," brief, RTC general manager Jacob Snow said that when the Sierra Club filed its lawsuit in 2002, it demonstrated a "lack of understanding" of the project's benefits for the Las Vegas Valley.

The RTC brief presents evidence to support the highway administration's case but does not make the RTC a party to litigation. It is expected to be filed Oct. 19, Ingrid Reisman, a spokeswoman for the RTC, said.

The $370 million project could ultimately expand the highway from six to 10 lanes. NDOT estimates further delays could cost Nevada taxpayers an additional $7 million a year.

The Nevada Department of Transportation, which has also supported the highway administration's efforts, is expected to file its own amicus brief, Bob McKenzie, a spokesman for NDOT, said.

Greg Novak, the highway adminstration's operations engineer for Nevada, said the U.S. 95 case has prompted other similar agencies in other states to prepare briefs supporting its efforts.

"The impression I get is that it helps having more support on our side," he said of the administration's allies. "The Sierra Club has friends on their side as well. Now we're just going to court and hearing what the judges say."

Mary E. Peters, the federal highway administrator, said at a press conference with Gov. Kenny Guinn that the Sierra Club suit could create a never-ending string of legal challenges for similar projects nationwide.

The Sierra Club in March 2003 submitted a proposal to the highway administration that outlined a series of possible compromises, which included possible increases in the number of air monitors along the corridor, government efforts to increase carpooling for those who work and live along the highway and reducing the speed limit to 55 mph.

The RTC has worked with the club on previous projects and generally has a "positive" relationship with the environmental protection organization, Reisman said.

"We talk to the Sierra Club constantly about all kinds of issues," Reisman said. "They're definitely a partner and they have a lot of the same goals we have. ... But one of our modes (of transportation) is vehicles and increasing high-speed lane miles to improve (traffic) flow."

In the brief, Snow said the proposals were unreasonable given current limitations on pollution-control science and technology.

Eric Antebi, a San Francisco-based spokesman for the Sierra Club, criticized the RTC's claims, saying the agency and the highway administration had oversimplified the environmental group's claims and had failed to use existing systems to study the kind of pollution that would be generated on the highway.

"They will not even do the research they can do because they don't want to know the answer," Antebi said. "For that, they should be ashamed of themselves. All we are talking about is look before you leap. They don't even want to look."

The U.S. 95 project was stalled after a July ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed the Sierra Club to delay the project until the court hears its appeal to shut down the expansion.

The expansion had been expected to open in late 2006. A three-judge panel is to hear the appeal late this month but a decision is not expected until December.