Lawsuit seeks to halt Reno road project

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court against the Regional Transportation Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, argues that environmental effects were improperly assessed, putting the public at risk.

Plaintiffs want a judge to halt work on the project until adequate environmental reviews are complete, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Tuesday.

Opponents argue that the Southeast Connector raises the risks of flooding of nearby homes and exposure to harmful contamination from mercury-laden Steamboat Creek. The suit also alleges the project would damage sensitive wetlands and habitat of the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout.

“The concern is that RTC has jumped the gun and is behaving recklessly,” said Kimberly Rhodemyer, a representative of the Upper South East Communities Coalition, which filed suit against the RTC and Army Corps over what were described as “unconscionable” actions, the newspaper reported.

Transportation commission spokesman Michael Moreno said the agency’s legal team will review the complaint and “defend its position vigorously.” Army Corps representatives had no comment.

The Southeast Connector, debated for decades, is described as a needed alternative to U.S. Highway 395 for north-sound travel in the Truckee Meadows.

About four miles of the road, called Veterans Parkway, was built by developers and already is open to traffic between the base of Geiger Grade and South Meadows Parkway.

Construction of the first phase of the remaining 5.5 miles of six-lane road between Sparks and South Meadows began in February. The $65 million project includes the 1,400-foot-long Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Truckee River and about a mile of roadway stretching to the south. The remaining section of road, which would pass through University Farms and Rosewood Lakes, is still being designed.

The Army Corps determined the work now underway would not have any significant environmental impact and thus did not require a detailed environmental analysis and issuance of an associated permit, said corps spokesman John Prettyman. The corps is now in the process of determining what level of environmental review will be needed for the next round of construction of a project expected to cost up to $250 million in total.

In its lawsuit, the citizens group says a single environmental study for the entire project is required and that the corps acted illegally by allowing the transportation commission to split up the job.

“RTC is attempting to piecemeal this major project by starting construction on the first phase of the highway before receiving final approvals for the entire project,” said Winter King, an attorney representing the coalition. King said the project violates the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.