A Federal Judge concludes the All Aboard Florida (AAF) project will not likely move forward on the Treasure Coast without the bond financing to pay for the high-speed rail system. Therefore, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said Martin and Indian River counties do have standing to proceed with the April 2015 lawsuit brought against AAF and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) over environmental laws and financing. The Court rejected AAF’s claims it did not need the the taxpayer subsidized Private Activity Bonds. (PABs)
Without the PAB financing, Judge Cooper now believes it is likely that Phase II of the AAF project (West Palm Beach to Orlando) might not be constructed. His 39-page Memorandum Opinion acknowledges that the Counties have presented sufficient evidence to establish that construction and operation of the AAF project will cause them to suffer a variety of environmental harm to their residents. For this reason, the Judge has ordered the lawsuits to proceed.
ATTACHED BELOW, IS THE FULL MEMORANDUM. You will note that some of the information in the Memorandum Opinion is blacked out to maintain the confidentiality of some AAF financial information.
Memorandum-opinion-against-all-aboard-florida
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