S1: City of San Diego is suing the federal government over wire fencing on city owned land in Marone Valley , near the US-Mexico border. The city accuses federal agencies of trespassing and harming protected land. Joining me to talk about it is Tami Murga. She's our environment reporter here at KPBS. Tami , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thank you for having me , Andrew.
S1: Thanks for being here. So at the center of this lawsuit is this fencing near the border ? Why is it so controversial ? Yeah.
S2: So the Trump administration had tried to fast track the construction of the border wall. And in April of last year , the Department of Homeland Security issued a waiver to bypass environmental laws to close some of that remaining gaps in the border wall in California and other border states. One of those areas is the land in Moroni Valley , and the city has jurisdiction over it. But the city is arguing in this lawsuit that the federal government is trespassing , and that it has caused irreparable damage to the sensitive habitat there.
S1: So let's talk more about the land at the center of this lawsuit. It's around 700 , about 750 acres here in San Diego and Imperial counties. Right. But technically , you know who owns it. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So the land in question , the city says it has sole jurisdiction and ownership. It's in Mormon Valley , as we mentioned earlier , it's just southeast of the Otay Mountain Wilderness area. And there's a long standing agreement between the city and the state and also the federal government to preserve its biodiversity. I was looking through it earlier , and it dates back to 1997. So it's really they have this responsibility to make sure that it stays undeveloped , that it it protects everything that's that's there.
S1: So you spoke with San Diego city attorney for City Attorney Heather Ferber yesterday. What did she tell you about the lawsuit ? Yes.
S2: So she said the city found out about a few weeks ago that federal personnel , including about a dozen Marines , were constructing the fencing. She said the lawsuit seeks to prevent any further construction of that area. And she also said that as soon as the Trump administration started talking about the border areas , the city knew that the property near or owned by the city might be affected. So they were keeping an eye , but they anticipated that some notice or communication would be given. But she said they didn't receive anything. And you can hear a little bit more about what she told me.
S3: They are taking city property without telling us , without paying for it , without , um , even communicating about it. And so they have to comply with the Constitution , even though they're the federal government. They're not exempt from that. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. So , you know , as you said , the city's argues the fencing has caused irreparable damage to habitat there. What kind of damage are we actually talking about here ? Yes.
S2: So as we mentioned earlier , this is a big piece of land. It's environmentally sensitive. There are vernal pools , native grasslands that are home to a lot of protected species , like the San Diego fairy shrimp and the checkerspot butterfly. And the lawsuit says that the presence of humans and equipment and the noises and the vibrations caused by the construction has been disrupting wildlife there , and it has also damaged a lot of the plants that are in that area , too. Ferber described to me a little bit about some of that during our call.
S3: Think about our undisturbed kind of desert areas where you have plants , and then you run a truck through it , or you have people walking through it and the plant life gets trodden , the soil gets compressed.
S1: So , you know , this involves multiple federal agencies , I believe this lawsuit. Right.
S2: I emailed them yesterday for comment in the Department of Homeland Security did respond to me by email. And they said that really , they're going to use every tool in its toolbox to , quote , defend the American people from dangerous foreign criminals. And they said they look forward to challenging this lawsuit. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. So more to come there. So I mean do we know how effective lawsuits like this one against the federal government , actually. Ah. Is there any sort of historical precedent here where you might be able to look at.
S2: There are , you know , during Trump's first term , environmental groups and even several states filed suits actually related to border wall construction. And the federal government did settle in one of those cases , the federal government agreed to halt construction and actually paid California $25 million for conservation projects here in San Diego , South San Diego areas. Interesting.
S1: Interesting. So , I mean , Tammy , do you have any sense of the timeline here ? We know that lawsuits can take a long time to kind of make their way through the process.
S2: I think , you know , one thing is interesting , it could drag on if the federal government is already saying that they look forward to challenging in court. So I think we've yet to see where this how long really this could take.
S1: So I'm sure you'll be following it in the coming months as this develops. I've been speaking with Tammy Murga. She's environment reporter here at KPBS. Tammy , thanks so much.
S2: Thank you for having me.
