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Lawsuit filed against US over Puerto Rico dredging plan

ENVIRONMENTAL groups sued the US government today over a dredging project in Puerto Rico that they say threatens the bay’s fragile ecosystem.

The US Army Corps of Engineers plans to remove 2.2 million cubic yards of seabed in San Juan Bay to deepen and widen shipping channels for a new liquefied natural gas terminal.

The Centre for Biological Diversity, one of those filing the lawsuit, says the corps did not consult any affected communities and that those living on the north coast of the Caribbean island — an “unincorporated territory” of the United States, whose residents can’t vote in US elections — will be exposed to increased pollution and oil spills.

“This project will destroy corals, threaten communities and deepen the island’s dangerous dependence on fossil fuels,” lawyer Catherine Kilduff said.

The bay’s ecosystem is connected to a wider estuary where manatees, four sea turtle species and rare birds live, the lawsuit states.

The US is keen to expand liquefied natural gas exports and create infrastructure that can handle the massive tankers which transport it.

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