AG says legal challenge to Amazon air hub in San Bernardino should be reheated – San Bernardino Sun

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has asked a federal appeals court to reheat an environmental challenge to the Federal Aviation Administration. Approved in 2019 of the Amazon Air Regional Center at San Bernardino International Airport.

Bonta’s predecessor, Xavier Becerra, and local environmental justice groups file a federal lawsuit in early 2020, shortly after the FAA blessed the new 660,000 square foot logistics center at the former Norton Air Force Base.

A three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refuse challenge on a 2-1 vote in November.

Becerra and others allege that during the project approval process, the FAA, San Bernardino International Airport Authority, and lead developer Hillwood Enterprises overlooked the significant health risks that the facility analyzed. kind of damage to the surrounding San Bernardino-Muscoy community.

Together, they called for a comprehensive environmental assessment of the project prior to commencing operations.

In November, two 9th Circuit judges ruling against the lawsuit wrote that the petitioners had inadequately argued that the FAA had failed in its obligation to fully consider the cumulative effects of a project. project that will eventually feature round-the-clock air and ground freight operations. near sensitive uses.

In her dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge Johnnie Rawlinson wrote that the case “outbreaks environmental racism, defined as” the creation, formulation, and enforcement of environmental laws. schools have a disproportionate and disproportionate impact on a particular race. “

Bonta, who succeeded Becerra in April, now wants the entire Ninth Circuit to hear the argument and determine if the three judges have ruled correctly.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have,” Bonta said in a news release Monday, January 3. “You can’t interrupt when the health and well-being of our community is at stake. threaten. … Fact: Communities like the one affected by this Project in San Bernardino are often overwhelmed and under-resourced.

“These communities, who are suffering health damage from pollution,” added Bonta, “deserve to the fullest extent of the protection the law, and through our Office of Environmental Justice.” , we are committed to overcoming this war. ”

In the press release, Bonta objected to the panel’s decision to “allow an agency to continue approving a Project based on a flawed environmental analysis where impacts are highly uncertain and conflicting.” controversial with Supreme Court precedents and Track 9.”