Oil, coal train protesters in Spokane file federal lawsuit claiming climate change protections

UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEB. 1, 2017 By Kip Hill kiph@spokesman.com (509) 459-5429

Self-proclaimed “Raging Grannies” and other protesters who were arrested last year for blocking rail traffic sued the federal government Tuesday, alleging violations of their constitutional right to a livable climate.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Spokane, cites a ruling by Oregon U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in December that government actions damaging the climate are grounds for a legal claim. Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin, a Gonzaga Law School alumnus and contract attorney for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, is representing the protesters and Gunnar Holmquist, a Spokane physician sponsoring a ballot initiative to ban coal and oil trains through downtown.

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