The lawsuit alleges that CSX Transportation removed rock from the Nolichucky riverbed while repairing a rail line damaged during Hurricane Helene.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A lawsuit accused federal agencies of unlawfully allowing a railroad company to damage the Nolichucky River Gorge while repairing a rail line damaged by Hurricane Helene.
The lawsuit was brought Monday by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of American Whitewater and American Rivers, both environmental conservation nonprofits. It said the Nolichucky River Gorge, home to species like bald eagles and hellbenders, was flooded during Hurricane Helene and a rail line near it was damaged.
CSX Transportation owns the rail line and began using heavy machinery to repair it after the storm, according to the lawsuit. It said the company started mining rock from the riverbed and piled it up near the riverbank as a way to replace land swept away by the flooding.
The …