FFOS highway challenge ruling today

THREE appellate court judges will rule today on whether environmental activist group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea will get a second chance to challenge the permission given to the State to begin work on the multi-million-dollar Churchill-Roosevelt Highway extension to Manzanilla.

Justices Gregory Smith, Judith Jones and Andre des Vignes are being asked by the FFOS for permission to challenge the process used by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to grant a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) for the project.

In the lawsuit, the FFOS is challenging the process for granting a CEC for the $400 million phase one of the project between Cumuto and Guaico, claiming it was procedurally flawed and failed to consider alternative routes which would have less impact on the environment and communities.