Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Environmental groups are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) over its plan to bulldoze a protected beach in Delaware so that three private homes will be better protected from the elements.
FWS wants to scrape sand from the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in order to build up dunelines on 700 feet of refuge land and 3,200 feet on adjacent private property, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), one of the parties to the lawsuit.
PEER and the Delaware Audubon Society contend that the proposed work violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires full environmental review of the project, and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, which requires projects on refuge lands be compatible with refuge purposes.
FWS claims the work poses no significant environmental impact on the refuge. It has not named the three property owners who will be receiving free donations of refuge sand and public work.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Suit to Bar Beach Scraping at Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)
Delaware Audubon Society, PEER v. Ken Salazar (U.S. District Court, Delaware) (pdf)
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