GBCPA Press
Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2003
CONTACT: Katie Chimenti,
281-326-3343
Nancy Edmonson,
281-471-4567
Seabrook, El Lago Join Bayport
Lawsuit
The city councils of Seabrook
and El Lago have voted
to become
additional plaintiffs in the lawsuit already
filed against the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
regarding the
giant container port and cruise
terminal proposed
for Bayport.
"Our opposition is unwavering," said
Natalie Ong of the
El Lago City Council.
"Bayport is the wrong place
for this facility. The project
analysis we have
seen so far
is biased, and the
time has come
to challenge
it in court."
City Councilman Mike Laible of Seabrook
echoed this
view. "Seabrook
developed
an independent
and comprehensive
response to
the Final Environmental
Impact Statement
on the Bayport proposal," said Laible.
"We found it full of omissions. The
public still has not been
told the truth about how this project
would impact our city."
The suit alleges
three major
violations of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and the federal
Clean Water
Act. It requests
that the federal
District Court order the
Corps to prepare
a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) due to deficiencies
in the Final EIS released
by the Corps in May.
The suit further
asks the court to overturn
wetlands policy being
followed by the
Corps' Galveston District as illegal
rule-making and to require
the Corps to reconsider
the extent
of wetlands at the
site.
-more--
Seabrook, El Lago Join Bayport Suit 2 of 2
Joint plaintiffs who originally filed the
suit are the
Cities of Shoreacres and Taylor
Lake Village,
the Galveston
Bay Conservation and Preservation
Association (GBCPA), Galveston
Bay Foundation, Houston Audubon Society, Gulf
Restoration Network,
Texas Committee
on Natural Resources,
Houston Yacht Club, the seafood
professionals' organization PISCES, and the
air pollution watchdog group GHASP--Galveston
Houston Association for Smog Prevention.
"A severe
problem with the
so-called Final EIS is that it is not at all
final," added Laible. "Just last week,
citizens received
from the Corps yet
another public notice,
yet another revised
permit application, this time
changing the proposed
mitigation measures."
Most people received
the notification about August 22, and the
Corps' announced deadline
for public comments on it is September
12.
"This fails even
to give us 30 days to comment
on a new mitigation plan located
far from the bay area,"
said Ong. "Like
the other
plaintiffs, we have
major concerns about inadequate
assessment of
alternatives
to the Bayport site,
failure to select
the least environmentally
damaging site, and idiosyncratic consideration
of the amount of wetlands
that would be impacted.
"
--30--
Galveston Bay Conservation
and Preservation Association
P.O. Box 323, Seabrook, Texas
77586
Phone: 281-326-3343
Website: www.gbcpa.net
E-mail: gbcpa@ev1.net