The Wall's in Your Court

Enviros' border-fence appeal turned down by Supreme Court

Posted at 10:14 AM on 23 Jun 2008

Homeland Security officials can continue to waive environmental laws to speed construction of a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club. The groups had argued that the eco-law-waiving power given to Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff in 2005 was unconstitutional. The fence section named specifically in the lawsuit has already been built; it runs through Arizona's San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, which is home to more than 250 species of migratory birds.

sources:  Reuters, Associated Press, The Monitor
see also, in Grist:  Border-fence plan could wreak havoc on environment