Overview
- A federal judge denied the Presidio Municipal Development District’s request for a temporary block on construction in a late Sunday ruling that found the July 2 waiver undercuts the group’s Rivers and Harbors Act claim.
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin formally waived the Rivers and Harbors Act provision on July 2, invoking IIRIRA authority that judges said lets DHS bypass certain environmental and engineering approvals.
- DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection say final designs are not complete, but public reporting shows major contracts awarded, materials staged near Marfa and Van Horn, and panel installation in Big Bend planned for as early as August.
- Plaintiffs say the plan would replace Presidio’s earthen levee with concrete topped by 30-foot steel bollard panels and could raise deadly flood risks, but the government has declined to share detailed plans citing national security.
- The case continues: the government must file a formal response by Aug. 21, other lawsuits remain pending, and the dispute could trigger Corps of Engineers reviews, further litigation over waivers, and local safety and environmental consequences.