Harris County v. Texas Department of Transportation

Harris County, Texas filed a suit in federal court asserting that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act when it decided to reroute an interstate in Houston. Harris County’s allegations included that the final environmental impact statement (EIS) did not include discussions of disproportionate impacts on minority and low-income populations and climate change impacts that had appeared in the draft EIS. As a result, the County alleged, TxDOT failed to fully disclose such impacts. (Note: On March 8, the Federal Highway Administration asked TxDOT to pause activity on the project pending investigation of civil rights concerns such as those raised in this lawsuit.)