Dismissal w/out Prejudice Leaves Door Open for Rocky Flats Trails and Visitors Center Lawsuit
Law Offices of Randall M. Weiner, P.C. 3100 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 202 Boulder, CO 80303 E-mail: randall@randallweiner.com
for further information, contact: Attorney Randall Weiner 303 440-3321 Mobile 720 217-8192 or Bob Schaeffer 239 395-6773
for immediate release, Friday, September 29, 2017 DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR FUTURE ROCKY FLATS LAWSUIT ABOUT TRAILS AND VISITOR’S CENTER CONSTRUCTION; SATURDAY RALLY WILL SEEK TO “KEEP ROCKY FLATS CLOSED”
The U.S. District Court today dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit claiming that a federal agency had violated environmental laws in its plan for public trails and a visitor’s center on the former Rocky Flats plutonium production site. The Court reasoned that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had not yet made a final decision. This gives the agency the opportunity to conduct a review under the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws before the court could intervene.
“USFWS has been put on notice that it must conduct all required environmental reviews before deciding whether to open Rocky Flats to the public,” explained Randall Weiner, attorney for the Plaintiffs. “If it decides where to place trails and a visitor’s center before completing all required analyses, the judge has opened the way for us to go back to court, and we will.”
Jon Lipsky, the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who led the raid on Rocky Flats which resulted in the plant’s closure in 1989, and a member of the lead plaintiff Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, concurred. “We have been watching over Rocky Flats for four decades, and we will continue to monitor the Service to make sure lives are protected in whatever future decisions are made.”
On Saturday, September 30 from 11am to 3:00pm, area residents will gather at the Colorado State Capitol (west side between Broadway and Lincoln) to protest U.S. government agency plans to open Rocky Flats to the public.
Speakers beginning at 1:00pm will include: Wes McKinley, foreman of the Federal Grand Jury, which attempted to indict the lead Rocky Flats contractor for environmental crimes; Kristen Iverson, author of Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats; attorney Randall Weiner, and Bonnie Graham-Reed, co-founder of Rocky Flats Right to Know.