On August 23, 2017, Principal Jamie Auslander and Of Counsel Gus Bauman (Washington, DC) filed, on behalf of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), an amicus brief in support of Maryland’s proposed light-rail Purple Line. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. It seeks reversal of the lower court’s finding of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) violation based on non-environmental grounds.

As the largest public-private partnership (P3) project in the nation, the Purple Line is a 16-mile light-rail line north of Washington, DC, that is expected to cost $2 billion to construct. The federal contribution is $900 million.

In John M. Fitzgerald, et al., v. Federal Transit Administration, et al., project opponents won a NEPA argument in the federal district court. The brief argues that the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment to project opponents should be reversed because the court misapplied NEPA. The brief also explains the importance of P3 transportation projects to the nation’s future.

On August 28, Gus and Jamie were invited by the State of Maryland to attend the signing of the federal financial commitment to the transit project and the ceremonial groundbreaking. Gus (left) and Jamie (right) are pictured below standing beside the agreement just after it was signed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.

Click here to read news coverage about the amicus brief.