Green Groups Sue U.S. Gov't Over Puerto Rico Dredging Plan

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the US government, accusing it of endangering wildlife and humans as it prepares to dredge and expand Puerto Rico’s biggest bay to accommodate massive tankers that will serve a new liquid natural gas terminal, Danica Coto reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The entrance to San Juan Bay

The Arizona-based nonprofit said the US Army Corps of Engineers’ $60 million project would remove 2.2 million cubic yards of seafloor sediment to deepen and widen San Juan Bay’s shipping channels.

Dredging would last more than a year, and some of the material could be transported to the nearby Condado Lagoon Estuarine Reserve, which is popular with locals and tourists who swim, snorkel and paddleboard its waters, where manatees and starfish are a common sight.

Environmental groups have long rejected construction of the terminal as they demand that Puerto Rico lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, which generate about 97% of the island’s electricity. Natural gas represents roughly 44% and petroleum another 37%. Renewables account for only 3%.

The lawsuit also states that several “overburdened environmental justice communities” near and around the US territory’s north coast could be at risk from pollution, explosions, and oil spills if the dredging is completed and the terminal starts operating. It noted that the Corps did not consult with communities that could be affected.

“This project will destroy corals and threaten communities and deepen the island’s dangerous dependence on fossil fuels,” Catherine Kilduff, an attorney for the center, told AP.

The center and two environmental groups — CORALations and El Puente de Williamsburg Inc. — filed the lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service and others.

They have 60 days to respond, and then both sides would make arguments before a judge issues a decision that can be appealed.

The lawsuit states that the Corps submitted an environmental assessment instead of a more rigorous environmental impact statement and accused it of reaching an erroneous determination in August 2018 that dredging would have no environmental impact.

The lawsuit noted that more than 1.5 million people live in eight cities and towns that surround San Juan Bay: “The coastal economy Is connected to the bay and its health.”

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