On October 7, 2010 the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier district court decision authorizing construction of the I-66 Spot Improvment Project. This long delayed decision-Green Party pro se Plaintiffs Audrey Clement and John Reeder-had filed their appeal exactly five months earlier-was expected. What was unexpected was the court’s decision not to publish its opinion, as the courts are rarely at a loss for words in quashing environmental challenges, especially those involving road projects.

The effect of an unpublished opinion is that the decision cannot be used as precedent in any other case. But this actually operates in VDOT’s favor, since it establishes a new precedent that whenever a transportation agency violates the law-as VDOT did in failing to produced an environmental assessment on the I-66 Spot Improvement Project-the court can simply approve the project without stating its reasons. This effectively frees transportation agencies throughout the Fourth Circuit from the reporting requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The Fourth Circuit has given them license to operate above the law. The decision in Clement v. LaHood is another big win for VDOT and the developers it represents and another big loss for the environment.

On August 26 Arlington Greens Audrey Clement and John Reeder filed a motion to stop construction of a 1.5 mile extended merge lane on westbound I-66 between Fairfax Drive and Sycamore Street. VDOT has completely torn up the left shoulder and Metrorail retaining wall along that stretch of road, despite the fact that Clement and Reeder have an appeal pending with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the April 30, 2010 dismissal of their case in federal district court. Clement and Reeder view VDOT’s decision to proceed with construction before the Fourth Circuit has reviewed the case as just another example of VDOT’s contempt for the courts and environmental laws.

Arlington Greens Propose a Green Jobs Program for Unemployed