ELR Citation: ELR 20798
No(s). 75-1040 (D.D.C. Sep 23, 1976)

Eleven months ago, the court enjoined further work on the Darien Gap Highway through Panama and Colombia, the first major highway through a region nearly untouched by modern civilization, pending compliance with NEPA. See 6 ELR 20051. The court here concludes, on plaintiffs' motion to continue the injunction, that the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) remains so deficient in the same problem areas as in the defendant's earlier assessment that the injunction must be extended until the deficiencies are remedied. Regarding the possible transmission of foot-and-mouth disease into North America, the FEIS fails to discuss in detail the control programs, their reliability, and an accurate description of their funding costs. Secondly, the FEIS fails to give a full explanation of the impact upon the Indian tribes living in the area of the proposed route, including an anthropological analysis of the impact of secondary development resulting from the highway. Finally, discussion of the alternative routes in the FEIS is little improved from the earlier treatment. In short, the information to provide informed and balanced decisionmaking is simply lacking.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Leonard C. Meeker
Center for Law and Social Policy
1751 N St., NW
Washington DC 20036
(202) 872-0670

Counsel for Defendants
Irwin L. Schroeder
Department of Justice
Washington DC 20530
(202) 739-2710