Environmental group brings second suit against BNSF Kansas hub
A
national environmental group with deep pockets and specialized legal expertise
is joining the effort to block a permit for one of the area’s biggest development
projects, The Kansas City Star reports. The Natural Resources Defense Council
filed a lawsuit Feb. 1 to halt the environmental permit issued for a rail yard
proposed for southwest Johnson County.
The
lawsuit is separate from one brought by Hillsdale Environmental Loss Prevention
Inc. and several other plaintiffs. Unlike the earlier lawsuit, BNSF Railway is
not named as a defendant.
The
defense council’s entrance into the case is significant because of the hefty
resources at its disposal. During 2007-08, the organization raised $108
million, according to its tax returns from that year. As of mid-2008, the group
had assets of $186 million.
Its
decision to join the legal dispute "guarantees there will be some funding at
least for the plaintiffs," said John Ragsdale, who has taught environmental law
at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Groups
like the council have national constituencies with dues paid by thousands of
people, enabling the groups to assemble lots of money with small donations,
Ragsdale said.
"Many
of these groups have staffs of attorneys … that are very, very competent and
skilled," Ragsdale said. "They can bring a strong force to bear."
BNSF
wants to build what’s known as an intermodal hub for transferring freight
arriving on West Coast trains to trucks for shipment elsewhere. The railroad
plans to develop the hub on 492 acres while a private developer builds a nearby
distribution and warehouse complex to store some of the incoming freight. Overall,
the project promises the creation of 13,000 jobs when fully built in about 20
years.
BNSF
is seeking $50 million in federal stimulus money to get the project started.