State and federal highway officials delayed an emissions report for more than a year, and opponents of I-69 charge it was because they feared the results would hold up construction on Section 4 of the interstate, which will pass through Greene and part of Monroe County.
In the end, 2004 data, which showed Greene County’s vehicular emissions were within required limits, were used in the environmental impact statement for Section 4 rather than newer data from 2009.
The later data, which officials had waited for, expecting it would yield better results, actually showed higher estimated emission levels.
The emissions report was important because it had to show Greene County in compliance with Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution before the federal government could approve the Section 4 plans, making it eligible for federal dollars.
Seeking temporary injunction
Attorney Mick Harrison, representing groups and individuals opposed to the highway, said he plans to seek a temporary injunction within the next two months that would halt work on the project, already under construction across much of the Section 4 route, to at least allow time to incorporate the new data into an amended environmental report.
His motion would be part of a federal lawsuit filed in August of 2011 that alleges violations of several federal laws, including the National Environmental Protection Act and the Clean Air Act, by state and federal highway officials in the design, planning and construction of the highway.
Harrison and the plaintiffs say any delay in the start of construction on Section 4 took on new urgency with the announcement in May of 2010 by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels that he was “fast tracking” the project, moving up the targeted completion date for that section to late 2014.