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Administrative Law Keyed to Cass
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe
Citation:
401 U.S. 402, 91 S. Ct. 814, 28 L. Ed. 2d 136 (1971)Facts
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park challenged the Secretary of Transportation’s approval of Interstate Highway I-40 through a 342-acre Memphis city park containing a zoo, golf course, theater, nature trails, and forest. The proposed six-lane expressway would destroy twenty-six acres and sever the zoo from the rest of the park. Although the route was approved in 1956 and 1966, the Department of Transportation Act and Federal-Aid Highway Act required the Secretary to determine that no feasible and prudent alternative existed and that all possible planning minimized harm. The Secretary announced approval in 1968 and 1969 without formal findings or explanations. Petitioners argued alternative routes existed to the north or south, or that tunneling methods could reduce harm.
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