KEA files suit on tree removal

COEUR d'ALENE - The Kootenai Environmental Alliance filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mandate to remove the trees along the Rosenberry Drive, known as the Dike Road, in Coeur d'Alene.

The lawsuit alleges that the Corps failed to perform an adequate environmental analysis and that the Corps is attempting to enforce a memorandum that isn't actually a law. The Gonzaga University School of Law's Environmental Law Clinic represents KEA in this case.

In an inspection a year ago, the Corps of Engineers cited the City of Coeur d'Alene for more than 100 maintenance deficiencies on the flood control equipment that purportedly protects North Idaho College and the Fort Grounds neighborhood from flooding.