‘Not ripe for review’: Federal judge dismisses Bell Bowl Prairie lawsuit, but leaves avenue for return

September 2, 2022|By Kevin Haas|In Rockford, Trending, Local
In this file photo: Advocates for a movement to save the Bell Bowl Prairie from destruction under an airport expansion rally on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, outside the Winnebago County courthouse in Rockford. The group announced a federal lawsuit aimed at temporarily halting the expansion. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at protecting Bell Bowl Prairie from destruction under an expansion of the Rockford airport, but the case could return to court pending the outcome of an environmental review.

U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston dismissed the case this week after determining it was “not ripe for review,” according to court documents.

The Natural Land Institute said that’s because the airport is waiting for the results of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service review on the effect construction would have on the endangered rusty patched bumble bee. If the Federal Aviation Administration permits construction to go forward after that review, then the case would be “ripe” and the lawsuit could be taken to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia or the Seventh Circuit, attorneys told the Natural Land Institute.

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The presence of the bee halted construction last year, and then in April officials with the airport said they started formal consultation with the FAA to determine how expansion would affect the endangered bee.

Representatives of the airport declined comment for this story, but they previously said they anticipated the review would be complete this fall.

The lawsuit was filed last October in federal court in Rockford as a means to halt construction of a $50 million cargo expansion of the Chicago Rockford International Airport. The expansion is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs and up to 600 permanent jobs while growing the airport’s cargo operations.

Bell Bowl Prairie is a native patch of land on the airport’s property that environmentalists say is one of the last remaining ancient gravel prairies in Illinois.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.