Center For Biological Diversity, Others Plan To Sue Over Proposed Puerto Rico Pipeline

Eleven individuals and environmental groups served notice on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday that they will sue to block construction of a proposed natural gas pipeline in Puerto Rico.

The proposed 92-mile (148-kilometer) pipeline is the signature infrastructure project of Gov. Luis Fortuno, who says it will lower power bills for island consumers who pay twice what they would on the U.S. mainland

The groups, including the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, accuse the Corps of Engineers of failing to follow legal requirements to determine the project’s impact on at least 38 plant and animal species. One of those is the coqui llanero, a tiny frog that U.S. environmental officials recently said should be included on the endangered species list.

The Corps of Engineers found that the project would not affect the species, including the Puerto Rican parrot, the crested toad, several turtles and 29 plants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed with those findings.

The groups say in their 101-page letter that the Corps of Engineers conducted formal environmental consultations only on the Puerto Rican boa, sharp-shinned hawk and broad-winged hawk.

“A project as complex as this one cannot be dealt with through a fast-track process,” said Gustavo Casalduc, spokesman for the Utuadeno Committee, a local group fighting the proposed pipeline.