A railroad was destroyed by Helene. Now, lawsuit alleges damages to a 'spectacular' gorge

ASHEVILLE - Two environmental nonprofits have sued three federal agencies alleging that the government is allowing a Florida-based railroad company to damage the Nolichucky River Gorge as it makes repairs to its tracks.

The lawsuit was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on the behalf of nonprofits American Whitewater and American Rivers against the three federal agencies on Nov. 18 in the Western District of North Carolina. The lawsuit alleges the agencies have allowed a Florida-based railroad company, CSX Transportation, to mine and damage the river as the company works on repairs along the gorge that spans between Tennessee and North Carolina.

After the Nolichucky washed away rail lines running along the gorge, CSX launched an operation to ensure the "recovery of track material from the Nolichucky River," CSX spokesperson Sheriee Bowman said. That effort includes recovering "rails, ties, ballast rock, bridge spans and other rail bed fill material that washed into the river."

The company isn't just removing rails and ties, but "natural material that was there before the storm," Patrick Hunter, managing attorney of SELC's Asheville office, told the Citizen Times. The removal of natural river rock from both sides of the river would affect the natural habitats of the creatures that live in the Nolichucky but also significantly impact the businesses along the river, Hunter said.

Bowman said that CSX is "committed to continue working collaboratively with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, USDA Forestry Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, state and federal agencies, as well as the community to ensure the rail infrastructure is recovered and restored in the safest and most environmentally responsible way."

"CSX continues to work within the required regulatory framework to conduct this critical infrastructure restoration project and declines to comment on the pending litigation," Bowman said.

More: US Forest Service scraps plan to log 15-acre Nantahala National Forest area after lawsuit

Nolichucky: 'One of the deepest, most spectacular gorges'

The Nolichucky River rises at the confluence of the Cane River and the North Toe River in Yancey County, where its deep gorge begins around Poplar, North Carolina, and ends near Unaka Springs in Tennessee. The river has been described as "one of the deepest, most spectacular gorges in the eastern United States" by the United States Forest Service.

If CSX is using river bed material to build the new rail line, the U.S. Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have violated numerous federal laws, including the Clean Water Act and the National Forest Management Act, the lawsuit alleges. Hunter said the filing's goal is not to prevent CSX from rebuilding the line, but to ensure that federal agencies and the company are being mindful of environmental laws and protections.

"We want CSX and the federal agencies in charge to take environmental, recreational and other business interests into account when they [rebuild]," Hunter told the Citizen Times. "What we heard from people on the ground was, it's kind of like the wild west out here, and no one is stepping in just to put some basic environmental protections in place."

Along with CSX's stretch in the Nolichucky River Gorge, railroads across Tennessee and Western North Carolina were deeply impacted by Tropical Storm Helene. In McDowell County, major lengths of the Old Fort Loops, a section of historic railroad that had been proposed as part of the primary line that would support the return of passenger travel to Asheville, have been washed away.

On Nov. 20, the SELC filed another motion requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the agencies approvals of CSX's activities, where motion claims the agencies approvals have had "serious, on-the-ground consequences" that have led to "destructive, irreparable activities in the Nolichucky Gorge."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declined to comment on the lawsuit.

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy. The county where major portions of the Old Fort Loops are located was incorrect in the original version of this story.

More: Helene recovery: Floodplain assessments, Lake Julian Festival of Lights, rental assistance

More: Buncombe rental assistance, emergency housing code approved as Helene took 8,200 jobs

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Helene recovery: CSX railroad repairs cited in environmentalists' suit