Six Challenges to Fresno-Bakersfield FEIR 06/05/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail TRANSDEF has collected the six petitions that challenge the Fresno-Bakersfield project level FEIR. The show begins… Tags: HSR Litigation, CEQA
MTC Wants to Bury Dumbarton Rail 05/10/14 Filed in: MTC | Transportation Planning | High-Speed Rail The staff report for MTC’s Planning and Allocations meeting, Wednesday, May 14 at 9:40 am lays out MTC’s plans to bury the Dumbarton Rail project. Transit advocates have often noted that this project is the only possible way to avoid the cost of a new multibillion Transbay tunnel to deal with the lack of capacity in BART’s Transbay tube. On April 23, TRANSDEF filed comments [this file without exhibits] with MTC, asserting legal arguments for why the proposed elimination of Regional Measure 2 funding for the Dumbarton Rail Project would be both illegal and unwise. [Comment file with…
Appeals to be heard in May 04/30/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Oral argument on three cases involving the CA HSR Authority will be heard by the Court of Appeal in Sacramento in May. The Town of Atherton appeal will be heard at 2:00 on Tuesday, May 20. The Extraordinary Writ for both the Tos case and the Validation case will be heard at 9:30 on Friday, May 23. The Court is located at 914 Capitol Mall, Sacramento. Tags: HSR Litigation
Caltrain Electrification–Has Caltrain Lost its Way? 04/30/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail | Transportation Planning Caltrain issued its very large Draft Environmental Impact Report for its Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project, which depends on HSR funding to electrify the tracks from San Jose to San Francisco. TRANSDEF filed extensive Comments and Attachments, making the case for studying a fully worked-up DEMU (Dual-mode diesel-electric multiple unit) alternative. This alternative would accomplish many of the goals of the electrification project while remaining within the financial reach of Caltrain, now that HSR seems to be crashing. Because it would eliminate most if not all the…
A Flurry of Amicus Briefs Hit Court 04/26/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Transportation agencies, worried that they could lose their funding from the HSR Bond, filed amicus briefs with the Court of Appeal, as did Sen. Galgiani, the author of AB 3034. The briefs and their replies can be found here. Tags: HSR Litigation
Cap and Trade for HSR: Scientifically Worthless 04/19/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail TRANSDEF released its analysis today of the CHSRA’s Contribution of the High-Speed Rail Program to Reducing California’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Levels (June 2013). In short, the construction of HSR would generate more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than it would reduce, for at least 2 decades. Because of this, it would be illegal to use cap and trade funds, which are intended to reduce GHGs, to build HSR. What’s especially surprising about the CHSRA’s report is its overtly deceitful manner of hiding its construction emissions, and its failure to provide comprehensive emissions numbers, despite being tasked by the Legislature with identifying the project’s net GHG…
Court of Appeals to CHSRA: No Way 04/15/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The Court of Appeal summarily dismissed the CHSRA’s second Petition for Extraordinary Writ of Mandate, saying in effect that there were no legal grounds upon which to grant relief. It is expected that the desperate CHSRA will attempt to get relief from the California Supreme Court, where success is exceedingly unlikely. See all the legal papers. Tags: HSR Litigation
Authority Appeals Yet Another Decision 03/21/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In a fascinating demonstration of desperation, the Attorney General filed a second Petition for Extraordinary Writ on behalf of the CHSRA, challenging the March 4, 2014 ruling in Tos that denied its request to end the Tos proceedings. CHSRA had requested a judgment on the pleadings already filed in the case. The Court ruled that a trial be held to determine whether the Authority’s HSR project complies with Proposition 1A. The Court of Appeal will decide in the near future whether to call for further briefing or dismiss the petition. The same Court of Appeal has ordered oral argument in the Atherton II appeal for May…
Court Rules Against Authority, Again 03/04/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny ruled today that the CHSRA had to stand trial on the question of whether its HSR plan complied with the requirements of Proposition 1A. The Authority had sought to end the case. Tags: HSR Litigation
TRAC Issues Plan B 02/24/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The Train Riders Association of California has issued its Plan B, what to do when the HSRA’s project craters. The Plan strategically attempts to use the $2.4 billion in federal ARRA funds before they expire in 2017. This Plan B differs from TRANSDEF’s Plan B, which proposed a wholesale revision of Proposition 1A and a repurposing of the entire $6 billion dollars appropriated for the Central Valley project. That plan has much greater uncertainties, because it would require a return to the voters. The time involved in doing that, given the very short timelines for construction, favors taking a more strategic approach. Hence, TRAC’s…