LANSING – State Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) today praised the U.S. Coast Guard for halting a plan to build a second span to the Ambassador Bridge. The Coast Guard on Monday issued a letter of abeyance to the Detroit International Bridge Company (Ambassador Bridge Company), suspending the Coast Guard bridge permit application process for the proposed bridge.
"This decision demonstrates that the federal government has every intention of following the regulations set forth in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that protects the public from irreparable harm from these types of projects," Tlaib said. "This is something that would have been a detriment to our community and put our families at risk."
According to the Coast Guard, the Ambassador Bridge Company has yet to provide evidence that it has acquired the necessary property rights for Riverside Park from the city of Detroit to build the bridge, as described in its permit application.
Tlaib has been sparring with the Ambassador Bridge Company over its plan to build a second span of the Ambassador Bridge in her district because residents, advocates and experts have stated that the project warrants a full Environmental Impact Statement. She organized community events to raise awareness and help save Riverside Park after the Ambassador Bridge Company tried to illegally seize it in May. Tlaib also helped lead a public hearing in March where more than 500 residents came to testify about the bridge's potential impact on Southwest Detroit's air quality. Tlaib is continuing her call for a full environmental impact study after the federal government previously determined that a second Ambassador Bridge span would have "no significant impact" on the air quality of Southwest Detroit.
"I will continue to advocate that the second span project receive a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement similar to that conducted with the Blue Water Bridge and the Detroit River International Crossing," Tlaib said. "Only this will require that air quality mitigation be implemented."
"Detroit has the worst air quality in Michigan and one of five children in Southwest Detroit has asthma. Attempts by the Ambassador Bridge Company to take shortcuts in the environmental clearances and permitting process jeopardized my community's human health and environment."