Purple Line permit challenged in court under Clean Water Act

Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail and two Montgomery County residents filed a legal challenge to a critical permit for the Purple Line light rail project construction in federal court Thursday. The suit alleges the Army Corps of Engineers erred in approving a "dredge and fill" permit for the Maryland Transit Administration, as the action violated the U.S. Clean Water Act.

The federal water law required that the ACE demonstrate that there was no alternative transportation project that would improve east-west travel in the Maryland suburbs without disturbing federally-controlled waters and wetlands. Jim Roy, VP of Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail said Thursday that the ACE failed to evaluate alternatives and declare one to have the least potential impact on waterways.

Chevy Chase attorney John Fitzgerald and retired U.S. Foreign Service officer Len Scensny are the two residents who joined FCCT as plaintiffs in the case. The suit asks the federal district court in Maryland to rule that the MTA's permit is invalid. Maryland officials just confirmed that the controversial Purple Line project will begin operation at least a year later than state and county officials had told the public prior to the 2018 elections, yet another election year cover-up by the Montgomery County cartel.