Environmental groups sue federal agencies over San Onofre toll road
The lawsuit alleges that the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service bowed to political influences in evaluating whether the project would harm endangered species.
A coalition of environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit this week claiming that U.S. wildlife agencies violated endangered species protections in their support of the proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach.
The suit, filed Wednesday in San Diego District Court, calls the conclusions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service "severely flawed and biased," potentially leading to an "ecological disaster."
The lawsuit claims the federal agencies capitulated to toll road planners' requests, "downplaying" the effect the 16-mile, six-lane stretch of road would have on roughly half a dozen species such as the Pacific pocket mouse, the arroyo toad and the Southern steelhead trout.
"It's an incredible concentration of threatened and endangered species that are going to be affected by this road," said Brian Segee, a staff attorney with Defenders of Wildlife, one of 11 organizations named as plaintiffs in the suit. The legal action "highlights the fact that the proposed toll road route -- in particular the San Mateo Creek watershed -- is a vital environmental resource."
Both federal agencies declined to comment on the pending litigation.
But a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which funds and builds Orange County toll roads, said that "a lot of work went into designing the alignment to avoid the most sensitive areas of habitat."
The spokeswoman, Lisa Telles, said the agency had planned more than 200 mitigation measures, such as under-freeway animal crossings and protective fencing.
The proposed extension of California 241 would connect south Orange County east of Mission Viejo with Interstate 5 near Basilone Road in north San Diego County. The controversial route, which slices through part of the 3,000-acre San Onofre State Park -- home to the world-class Trestles surf break -- and the Donna O'Neill Land Conservancy, has sparked a roughly decade-long environmental battle. Proponents say the road would provide much-needed relief from growing traffic congestion.
The suit alleges that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised its original biological opinion, removing passages about the destruction of mouse and toad habitat at the request of the toll road agency. The Fish and Wildlife Service ultimately concluded in May that the $1.3-billion road "is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence" of six vulnerable species.
