Use the following scenario to answer essay questions (1-2)
You are asked to advise 3 nonprofit organizations that oppose the Portland, Oregon, Interstate 5 (I-5) Rose
Quarter Improvement Project: No More Freeways, Neighbors for Clean Air, and the Eliot Neighborhood
Association.
In conjunction with the Oregon Department of Transportation (“ODOT”), the United States Department of
Transportation (“DOT”) and the United States Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”) completed an
Environmental Assessment (“EA”) and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (“FONSI”) decision for the I-5
Rose Quarter Improvement Project.
To approve the funding for the project, Section 4(f) of the Transportation Act requires that a transportation
project is permitted only if there is no prudent and feasible alternative to using a public park, recreation area, or
historic site of national, State, or local significance. The project must include all possible planning to minimize
harm to the park, recreation area, or historic site if no prudent and feasible alternatives exist.
When completing the Environmental Assessment, the agencies only considered two alternatives: build and nobuild. The project will add highway lanes and widen shoulders to increase vehicle capacity and improve
smooth traffic flow where three interstates meet at the top traffic bottleneck in Oregon. It will create highway
covers on top of I-5 and new crossings over I-5, and one new pedestrian and bicycle bridge along with
upgrades to other local streets. The agencies’ analysis of air quality, transportation impacts, noise impacts,
climate emissions, and so forth are based on transportation modeling, much of which has been kept from the
public’s scrutiny.
The project is in the Albina neighborhood, a historically Black neighborhood of Portland that was divided when
I-5 was originally built. Properties in the neighborhood are proposed for the National Register of Historic Places
for their significance to PNW Black History. The project is near Harriet Tubman Middle School and its outdoor
play area, which will be closer to the highway if the project is completed. The Lillis-Albina Park will be
impacted, and the project calls for building a “noise wall” in the park to protect it from highway impacts.
You do not need to do outside research. You do not have to evaluate the likelihood of success of the plaintiff's
lawsuits.
Please take the time to clearly articulate your responses by using paragraphs, proper legal terms, and
organized writing.
Question 1: What facts must the plaintiff organizations articulate to have standing to challenge the agency
decisions to re-build the highway?
Question 2: Which laws should the plaintiff organizations refer to in challenging the agency decision to proceed
with the highway project planning and approval?
Sample Solution