The Indian River County reply brief has been filed in the federal appellate case concerning Virgin Trains. The next step in the litigation will be the oral
Brightline Train Heading North Through Deerfield Beach
argument on September 24th. Indian River County’s lawsuit challenging the financing, safety and environmental impacts of the proposed West Palm Beach to Orlando phase of the high-speed rail was dismissed. Now the County is appealing that decision. County Commissioners voted back in February in favor of spending up to $400,000 to continue fighting the train in court.
Here is a summary of the brief:
“First, in the brief, Indian River County explains why it has standing to bring the suit as the County’s interests are within the zone of interests of the federal statute governing private activity bonds.
The brief then goes on to outline why USDOT’s determination that the project is eligible to be financed by private activity bonds violated the federal statute. To be eligible, a surface transportation project must have actually received title 23 funding. In this case, the only type of surface transportation project authorized to receive title 23 funding and that received title 23 funding were the “projects for the elimination of hazards of railway-highway crossings,” funded under section 130 of title 23. The project is not a project for the elimination of such hazards, but instead a higher speed passenger rail project and therefore, does not qualify for assistance under the federal statute.
Finally, USDOT violated NEPA by failing to disclose and take a hard look at mainline pedestrian safety risks and failing to collect the data necessary for a hard look at train noise or provide a rational explanation for its deficient noise assessment.”
Read the Reply Brief here: IRCBrief
Here’s more on the story behind the lawsuit:
http://veronews.com/2019/02/05/county-commission-votes-spend-400000-appeal-train-lawsuit-decision/