Environmentalists
file suit to stop Cailif. border fence
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Environmental groups asked
a federal judge Tuesday to halt construction
of a new border fence on the U.S.-Mexican
border south of San Diego.
The
Sierra Club, San Diego Audubon Society,
San Diego Baykeeper and other groups allege
the Department of Homeland Security violated
the National Environmental Policy Act by
failing to fully consider potential harm
to the environment.
The
Bush administration contends the fence and
a patrol road are needed to improve security
on the westernmost 3.5-mile leg of the U.S.-Mexico
border.
Environmentalists
say the project would erode soil just south
of a 2,531-acre federally protected estuary
that is a refuge for threatened and endangered
birds, plants and fish.
An
existing fence is falling apart in coastal
stretches. Further east of the coast, the
government already has erected secondary
fencing, including a new 14-foot-high mesh
fence that is angled at the top.
Environmentalists
say flattening canyons to make room for
the fence is overkill.
"It's
like cutting butter with a chainsaw,"
Cory Briggs, a lead attorney in the case,
told a news conference outside the federal
courthouse.
The
Border Patrol, which is part of the Homeland
Security Department, said it is committed
to the project.
"If
we are confronted with a lawsuit, it is
simply one of the hurdles we are willing
to address to achieve the goal of security,"
Border Patrol spokesman Richard Kite said.
The
suit, filed in U.S. District Court, comes
eight days before the state Coastal Commission
considers whether to approve the fence.
The commission staff has recommended against
the proposal.
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