BUFFALO, N.Y. — In the last week, three separate lawsuits have been filed against the NYSDOT--two of which were filed on Friday.
The New York Civil Liberties Union filed one lawsuit and the other was filed jointly by three Western New York advocacy groups-- Citizens for Regional Transit, Council for Economic Justice, and the WNY Youth Climate Council.
"This is not a tool to use to actually stop the project," said Lanessa Owens-Chaplain, director of the Racial Justice Center at the NYCLU.
The lawsuit filed by the NYCLU focuses on the lack of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the NYSDOT.
Earlier this year the federal DOT ruled, based on the environmental assessment conducted by NYSDOT, that the project had no significant impact on the environment.
NYCLU argues that there's know way of knowing that without a proper EIS.
"You have to show how you solve the problem," Owens-Chaplin said. "I think there's a big difference in our lawsuit than other lawsuits, because we're not attempting to stop the project or halt the project."
Governor Hochul held a big kickoff for the $1B Kensington Expressway project in February.
At that event attended by hundreds of supporters, many of which who had to attend, Hochul enthusiastically declared that the project was "full steam ahead" and construction would begin later this year.
But the three recently filed lawsuits pose a serious threat to a project that has divided the community.
Many of those against the project are concerned that the environmental assessment conducted by the NYSDOT indicates that pollution levels will increase at each end of the tunnel.
"We're simply saying that there are air quality issues here that you have to address, and the way to address them is to do with EIS," Owens-Chapin said.
The lawsuit filed by the three WNY advocacy groups alleges that the NYSDOT is violating the state constitution and the recently enacted Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act. The lawsuit claims that the project can't move forward because the elevated pollution levels would trigger violations of the CLCPA and state constitution.
Citizens for Regional Transit, WNY Youth Climate Council and Coalition for Economic Justice have asked in their court filing for all approvals of the project to be annulled. Additionally, similar to the NYCLU lawsuit, the three groups want an EIS conducted.
2 On Your Side reached out to the NYSDOT and Governor Hochul's office for comment.
The Governor's office referred WGRZ to her statements at the February event.
A spokesperson for the NYSDOT said "The State Department of Transportation is not yet in receipt of these lawsuits and cannot comment on hypotheticals. The environmental review process adhered to all applicable state and federal laws and we look forward to moving the project forward in the coming months."
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