FHWA Admits they Needed to Conduct Air Toxics Studies – CSTP Lawsuit Settled

CSTP agrees to drop Lawsuit

FHWA pays CSTP’s costs for bringing lawsuit

CSTP filed a Complaint in the United States District Court of Eastern Washington on April 13, 2010 in the hopes of forcing the department of transportation to conduct air toxics studies to evaluate the significant health effects that could afflict people living close to the NSC corridor.  Only after CSTP filed our lawsuit did the FHWA conduct the required air toxics studies.  To settle the lawsuit, the FHWA admitted they needed to conduct the studies and agreed to pay our costs for bringing the lawsuit.  See the settlement agreement we entered into with the FHWA: Stipulation and Order of Dismissal

CSTP Lawsuit

Our original Complaint which initiated the lawsuit.

Our health effects argument detailing why air toxics studies are important: health effects research.

The federal guidance which requires MSAT studies be conducted before federal monies can be spent on a project (and the crux of our argument) can be seen here:  Federal Guidance
 We petitioned the federal government to conduct these studies back in 2006! air studies need to be conducted.
 It took the federal government a year to reply to our request with a Not Interested reply.
 When the TIGER grant was open for public comment in 2009, we reiterated the need to conduct the required air quality studies.  Our Comments filed during the open period that were ignored (again!) and forced us to file our lawsuit.
 An influential study conducted in California demonstrates the harm caused by freeway exhaust in the neighborhoods adjacent to freeways.  Here is a map I made from the CA freeway study.

The map shows that cancer risk is highest in the neighborhoods adjacent to the freeway corridors.

Here is the Executive Summary from the report MATESIIIExecutiveSummary-Final92008