By Ian James | Arizona Republic
The Army Corps of Engineers has given a green light to a developer that plans to build a 28,000-home development near the San Pedro River in southern Arizona, reissuing a permit that was suspended in response to a legal challenge by environmental groups.
The federal agency’s decision won’t end the long-running fight over the proposed development known as Villages at Vigneto.
Stu Gillespie, a lawyer with Earthjustice, said the conservation groups that he represents plan to amend their suit to challenge the revised permit later this month.
“The Corps has not remedied the fatal flaws in its decision-making process. Its revised analysis contains even more contradictions and conclusory assertions than the prior flawed analysis,” Gillespie said in an email. “As a result, the Corps reissued the same permit for the Villages at Vigneto without ever analyzing the impacts of the proposed development on the San Pedro River. That’s downright inadequate and contrary to the law.”
