Washington, D.C. – A special district dedicated to economic development in the city of Presidio and Presidio County is suing the federal government, challenging the construction of the planned border wall in the Big Bend area of southwestern Texas and asking a federal court to stop the unapproved construction before it can disturb vital flood control measures near the Rio Grande and its tributaries and cause harm to local communities. The suit is filed amidst massive backlash from people and communities in West Texas and across the state regarding construction in the region, which is a major priority of the Trump-Vance administration.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today, the Presidio Municipal Development District (PMDD) is asking the court to require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to comply with a law that protects the U.S. portion of the Presidio Flood Control Project (PFCP) – a levee system and boundary line built and managed by the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission — and the Cibolo Creek levees built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As the suit explains, the area faces substantial flood risk due to its proximity to a confluence of tributaries to the Rio Grande, and the prospect of unreviewed construction on or affecting the Presidio levees threatens PMDD’s core economic-development mission and financial interests.
“Here in Presidio, the river has never divided us. It’s the reason our whole community is here, on both sides. The levee is what lets us live safely alongside it, and we’re asking that it get the flood-safety review the law requires before anyone builds on it,” said John T. Kennedy, Executive Director, Presidio Municipal Development District.
The complaint and accompanying emergency motion ask the court to require DHS, CBP, and their contractors to halt construction and conduct legally required review processes as they advance efforts to build a border wall along the southern United States border. The project proposes to build a “steel bollard wall or waterborne barrier, along with roads, detection technology, cameras and lighting and in some cases a secondary wall,” along the border; yet, as the suit explains, the project violates the Rivers and Harbors Act, a federal law that protects U.S. waterways, boundary lines, and flood-control projects like the Presidio levees, by broadly prohibiting interference with U.S.-built water features. Though the federal government has repeatedly issued exemptions and waivers of federal laws and regulations protecting the environment; preserving archaeological resources, paleontological resources, antiquities, and Native American remains and cultural items; addressing waste disposal and noise control; and setting procedures for federal contracting, none of the waivers purported to exempt the government from the Rivers and Harbors Act.
“Big Bend is a cherished region of Texas and our nation alongside the Rio Grande. Federal law prohibits construction that alters federal flood-control projects without the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and, here, the federal government plans to build on the very levee that protects the Presidio Municipal Development District. The Trump-Vance administration cannot pick and choose which laws it wants to follow and which laws it wants to ignore,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Construction on the federal flood-control works in Presidio could compromise their integrity and leave the region vulnerable to deadly flash floods capable of destroying infrastructure, homes, farmland, and agriculture. That means real harm to real people in the area. Democracy Forward is honored to hold the government accountable as it recklessly pushes forward with its unlawful border wall construction.”
The case is Presidio Municipal Development District et al v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. and the legal team at Democracy Forward working on the matter includes Brian Netter, Laura Bakst, and Louis Katz.
Read the complaint filed today here and a memo requesting a preliminary injunction here.
– # # # –
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
