WASHINGTON — A federal judge has agreed to issue a ruling in a lawsuit over whether federal approval to fund the Purple Line will go forward by April 28, the last business day in the month.
At issue is the concern raised by residents in the Chevy Chase area over the project, who presented a lawsuit against the effort just days before a federal approval of the project was to be signed.
And then, a decision was delayed because of the judge’s concern over Metro’s possible negative impact on the viability of the Purple Line.
The government is worried that by further delaying the approval of the project, it risks missing out on roughly a billion dollars in funding from the federal government.
The White House has said if there is no federal funding agreements signed now, they are not going to go forward with projects like the Purple Line.
Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner said that the federal judge cannot impose his opinion in place of the federal government on the substance of the effort.
However, the judge can say the government did not take into consideration a matter that he feels is important, which is what he did when he raised concerns that weakening Metro ridership would decrease the viability of the Purple Line.
“He said to the federal government, ‘Show me I’m wrong, show me how you considered this matter,'” Berliner said. “The federal government did so. It showed him why his concern was not a valid concern.”
Berliner’s issue is that the project should have been allowed to move forward then.
“At that point in time, the judge needs to just say, ‘Thank you. We are done with this.’ And move forward with the project,” he said.
Berliner said he is very confident that the judge will allow the project to continue and allow the federal approval to be signed.
While this lawsuit is a significant barrier, there will be other obstacles along the way once the lawsuit is cleared, like adjustments to the design and budget trimming.
