Lawsuit forces transportation agencies to pause planning and reevaluate approval of I-11
Photo credit: Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity.
The Federal Highway Administration and Arizona Department of Transportation have agreed to halt planning activities and reevaluate their approval of Interstate 11. This is in response to the ongoing lawsuit brought by the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection and its partners and member groups Center for Biological Diversity, Tucson Audubon Society, and Friends of Ironwood Forest.
As a result, a court stayed the case today until the reevaluation is completed. The proposed 280-mile highway between Nogales and Wickenburg, Arizona, would pose significant threats to endangered species, public lands, water and the climate.
Under the agreement, the Federal Highway Administration will review the interstate’s compliance with environmental laws and hold a 60-day public comment period. A revised environmental review could lead to a supplemental environmental impact statement, consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and potentially a new decision about the project.
“The Federal Highway Administration’s review must be a genuine effort to address the significant environmental harms this freeway would cause,” said Kate Hotten, co-executive director at the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. “The west option must be permanently abandoned to uphold the integrity of Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, protect fragile ecosystems like Saguaro National Park, and Pima pineapple cactus.”
Conservation groups sued the highway administration in April 2022 for conducting an inadequate environmental review before approving possible routes for the proposed highway. In May 2023 U.S. District Judge John Hinderaker denied a government motion to partially dismiss the lawsuit. The groups then submitted an amended complaint saying the agency also failed to analyze the highway’s threats to endangered species, as required under the Endangered Species Act.
“The interstate’s approval was based on a deeply flawed environmental analysis that the Federal Highway Administration now has a chance to fix,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Interstate 11 would devastate treasured places like the Sonoran Desert National Monument. It also poses grave threats to endangered wildlife like cactus ferruginous pygmy owls. I hope this agreement will make sure the agencies stop ignoring community concerns about the highway’s threats to plants, wildlife, people and the climate.”
Next steps
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A statement was made from ADOT in the days following this press release that the “Federal Highway Administration and ADOT will undertake a re-evaluation of the Interstate 11 Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement in accordance with federal regulations. This effort will also include a public comment period.”
The Federal Highways Administration has not established a timeframe for the 60-day comment period referenced above. We will update you as soon as we know more, including how to comment with suggested talking points.
Background
In November 2021, the Federal Highway Administration approved the 280‐mile‐long corridor for Interstate 11. Proponents envision it as part of an interstate route to Las Vegas that could eventually be expanded to cut across the entire western United States between Mexico and Canada. The Arizona Department of Transportation will decide the route through Pima County.
Objections to the proposed west option have come from the City of Tucson, City of Sahuarita, Pima County Board of Supervisors, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service. Their concerns include increased suburban sprawl, groundwater contamination, and degrading the wilderness, wildlife habitat and recreational values of Saguaro National Park West, Tucson Mountain Park and Ironwood Forest National Monument.
We’re concerned the interstate would lead to development of conservation lands that have been set aside to mitigate the harm from other projects, including the Bureau of Reclamation’s Tucson Mitigation Corridor, and lands protected under Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
Tags: Friends of Ironwood Forest, Ironwood Forest National Monument