Trump says arch will house drones, snipers, ammunition at Memorial Circle
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in partnership with the legal organization Democracy Forward, alleges that the NPS failed to conduct an adequate review under the National Environmental Policy Act before issuing a finding of no significant impact for the project. Instead, the agency completed what the complaint describes as a “cursory and conclusory” Environmental Assessment.
“The president is not allowed to bypass legal review requirements just because he wants to move quickly on his own whims, and NPS clearly violated the law by failing to conduct an adequate review of the arch project,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.
The complaint argues that the NPS failed to satisfy its obligations under NEPA to examine the arch’s potential historic, cultural and aesthetic impacts and to evaluate reasonable alternatives and mitigation measures. The lawsuit alleges the agency “improperly dismissed or minimized harms that the agency acknowledges the project will cause” and “outright ignored other significant impacts of the project.”
The arch proposed for Memorial Circle is one of several projects Trump has advanced to remake Washington, D.C., in what critics say is his own image. Many of those projects, including construction of a White House ballroom, have attracted separate litigation. The arch has drawn at least one prior lawsuit: a February complaint alleging the project lacks congressional approval.
Arlington County further alleges the arch will harm the county by further congesting thoroughfares needed for emergency transport, including for Arlington National Cemetery and secondary emergency services for Reagan National Airport, while threatening to increase noise and air pollution. “It will significantly and detrimentally affect many historic properties in Arlington, including Arlington National Cemetery,” the lawsuit states.
Trump last month announced that, at the request of the U.S. military, the arch would be a “top grade Military Complex” to house “large numbers of drones,” snipers and ammunition. The county argues in its lawsuit that using the arch to stockpile ammunition and serve as a staging point for drones and snipers so close to commuters and tourists “will dramatically worsen these public-safety harms and the risk of accidents.”
Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said the county filed the lawsuit because the community has the most to lose “from this egregious and unlawful proposed project.”
“We have diligently and in good faith engaged in the review process, pointing out severe, unique and wide-ranging negative impacts to the county and our residents,” de Ferranti said in a statement. “Enough is enough. We will do all we can to hold this administration accountable and to protect and serve the best interests of our community.”