By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — The Natural Land Institute has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration after it gave the Rockford airport the go-ahead to continue its cargo expansion at the expense of a rare native prairie.
The FAA determined Friday that its initial finding in November 2019, which stated that construction had no significant impact on the environment or any endangered species, still stands today.
The airport’s excavation work for the project can only move forward between Oct. 15 and March 15 to avoid times when the endangered rusty patched bumble bee is foraging, the FAA said. That gives the Chicago Rockford International Airport about nine days to excavate for the future road before operations must cease until the fall. It plans to start work Thursday.
The bee’s presence in the Bell Bowl Prairie, an ancient gravel prairie that dates back thousands of years, initially halted construction in October 2021 to allow more time for environmental review.
“Chicago Rockford International Airport will retain more than 6 acres of the Bell Bowl Prairie. This includes more than 3 acres of high-quality prairie,” the FAA said today in a statement provided to the Rock River Current. “Any excavation and shrub and brush clearing work in the project area will occur between October 15 through March 15 to avoid impacts to the rusty patched bumble bee and avoid the prime nesting seasons for the black-billed cuckoo and the upland sandpiper.”
More news: YWCA’s Women of Achievement Awards honor inspirational leaders and difference-makers
NLI responded to the FAA’s ruling Saturday with a lawsuit asking the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to review the finding. Then today it asked for an emergency stay to try to prevent the airport from going forward with construction this week.
“An Illinois environmental jewel — on which a federally-listed endangered species exists — will be bulldozed and paved over with asphalt and concrete as early as Thursday, March 9, 2023, absent a stay pending review,” the opening line of its emergency motion reads.
The NLI hopes its motion can spare the prairie until March 15. If that happens, then the airport wouldn’t be allowed to go forward with until Oct. 15. That would give the airport time to reconsider its design and build an expansion that is more compatible with the prairie, said Kerry Leigh, executive director of NLI. She said there is grant money available that would pay for the project if the airport changes course.
“Instead of wasting taxpayer money on these long lawsuits, they can actually submit a grant … to redesign the road and get moving on this project,” Leigh said. “We think this project is important, just not the road through the prairie.”
More news: Dari Fair, a summertime tradition since the 1960s, is for sale in Rockford
Leigh is urging Bell Bowl Prairie supporters to call the Gov. JB Pritzker’s office to urge him to intervene and save the prairie.
A hearing has not yet been scheduled for the emergency motion, but Leigh said she expects that to happen before construction moves forward Thursday. NLI plans to rally at 5 p.m. Wednesday outside the Winnebago County Courthouse at Church and Elm streets.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas