Historic Black communities join suit against Pete Buttigieg over Gulfport road project

A lawsuit has been filed against Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the U.S. Department of Transportation in relation to a controversial Gulfport road project that critics say will pose an environmental threat to historic Black communities nearby.

The now-estimated $49 million project will extend Airport Road through previously undeveloped wetlands and open up new development along U.S. 49.

The city and members of nearby Black neighborhoods, including Turkey Creek and Forest Heights, have long been divided over the road plan, although everyone agrees that something needs to be done about the traffic congestion on Highway 49 north of Airport Road and the drainage problems near Forest Heights.

The lawsuit was filed by the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO), Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf. Robert Wiygul and Andrea Issod are the attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

In addition to challenging the environmental assessment that has been done for the project, the lawsuit claims that U.S. DOT is subsidizing a project that will lose money and cause destruction of protected wetlands, without considering alternative solutions. Plaintiffs also claim that the project violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

“The legal challenge is based on the DOT’s failure to follow NEPA when it approved $25 million in taxpayer funded subsidies for the project, even while acknowledging that the costs of the project are likely to outweigh the benefits,” a press release from the plaintiffs say.

Plaintiffs also claim the Airport Road Extension Project will create increased environmental injustice, specifically to the historic Black communities that live in areas adjacent to the project.

The City of Gulfport applied for a $20 million BUILD grant from the U.S. DOT in July 2019. The new road was described as something that would stimulate new and existing commercial and economic growth.

At a public meeting earlier this year, Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes said that officials have listened to concerns from the community and have changed their plans based on feedback and suggestions.

The project, Hewes told the Sun Herald in March, will also make traveling safer in Gulfport.

“It’s bad enough just being stuck in traffic, and it causes its own hazard as it backs up onto the major interstate and onto 49,” he said. “But also if there’s an emergency situation, and our first responders can’t get there. Bad things can happen. It is just flat out dangerous.”

Plaintiffs disagree.

“The reality is that $48 plus million in taxpayer dollars will do nothing to help traffic congestion.” Louie Miller, State Director for Mississippi Sierra Club, said in a press release. “It’s clear the goal of this proposal is to promote new commercial development for the enrichment of politically connected, private real estate developers, at the expense of the local community.”

Gulfport Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines, in whose ward the road is located, was worried that a 64-acre retention pond that was featured in city’s plan in March. She projected the pond, built at grade level, would contribute to more flooding in Forest Heights.

“My goal is to protect these 200 families,” she said earlier this year.

Plantiffs in the lawsuit are requesting the courts “vacate and set aside the Airport Road project and require the U.S. DOT prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS).

Plaintiffs’ request to the court for relief also include the following:

• Declare that NEPA and the APA was violated by the U.S. Department of Transportation by failure to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

• Declare that NEPA was violated by the U.S. Department of Transportation by failure to prepare a proper Environmental Assessment

• Issue a preliminary and permanent injunction against the U.S. Department of Transportation and other entities acting under it, “enjoining any irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources for the Airport Road Extension Project”

• Grant plaintiffs attorney’s fees and costs for this lawsuit

• Grant further relief that is determined just and proper

A lawsuit represents one side of a story.

This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 6:37 PM.