Federal judge rules in favor of Caltrans
A federal judge granted a summary judgment in favor of Caltrans and the proposed Richardson Grove widening project in U.S. District Court this week.
The project, long-opposed by local environmental advocacy groups, would “make minor adjustments to the roadway alignment” of a 1.1-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 in Southern Humboldt County in an effort to accommodate “STAA heavies,” or extra long semi-trucks passing through the narrow stretch.
The plaintiffs asserted claims under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In his decision, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup wrote that “Because each of the remaining claims have failed, plaintiffs have
no footing to seek injunctive relief.”
Alsup acknowledges that “early iterations of (Caltrans’) assessments included hiccups” but maintained that “early on inadequacies do not forever doom the later revisions and iterations of Caltrans’ assessment.”
“We must keep in mind that this project is not a brand new highway through pristine parkland,” Alsup wrote. “It is an improvement to an existing highway already long laid through a parkland. The improvement will be in the form of some widening and straightening.”
One of the plaintiffs, Tom Wheeler, executive director for the Environmental Protection Information Center, said he was “obviously disappointed by the ruling” but said his organization will “continue to exhaust every avenue to protect the old-growth redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park from bulldozers and concrete.”
Peter Galvin, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said he was “disappointed and saddened by the ruling.”
“We feel that the court system did not ultimately work the way it was supposed to work to help protect Richardson Grove State Park,” he said. “… To this day we are uncertain as to why Caltrans is so insistent on creating this STAA access on every road in its jurisdiction. It just seems like there are some scenic highways that should remain scenic.”
Reached for comment Wednesday, Caltrans explained that alternative routes, such as state Route 299, are subject to frequent closures.
“SR 299 is a curvy and mountainous route often subject to both winter closures related to inclement weather and summer closures related to wildfires, effectively closing SR 299 off to all traffic, including industry-standard trucks during those periods,” according to a statement from Caltrans District 1 provided by Myles Cochrane. “It is not unusual for Route 299 to close for weeks at a time.”
Monday’s judgment does not mean Caltrans can move forward immediately. Due to a previous judgment from the Humboldt County Superior Court, Caltrans must solicit public comment on supplemental documents associated with the project.
“We feel that the court system did not ultimately work the way it was supposed to work to help protect Richardson Grove State Park.” — Peter Galvin, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity
“This has been more than a 10-year battle, the struggle is not over,” Galvin said. “Caltrans still has to complete the updates to the environmental impact report document because a Humboldt County judge previously ruled that Caltrans did not adequately address the impacts of the project to the root zone of ancient redwood trees.”
Caltrans maintained that “comprehensive environmental review, along with the recent favorable court decisions and declarations from State Parks, affirm that the project will not result in any significant impact on the health or stability of old-growth redwoods in Richardson Grove.”
“No old-growth redwood trees will be removed during the project, and construction crews will exercise extra caution to further minimize impacts by using a wide array of protective measures, including the use of an air spade and other hand tools for excavation when feasible and supervision of ground-disturbing work by a certified arborist,” according to the statement.