The Lakes and Parks Alliance of Minneapolis, an organization founded to protect the Kenilworth corridor, is suing the Metropolitan Council and the Federal Transit Administration for the violation of environmental regulations.

The Metropolitan Council and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are being sued because of a failure to revisit the environmental impact of the light rail in the Kenilworth corridor, according to Stuart Chazin, a board member at the Lakes and Parks Alliance (LPA) and chair of a similar organization called the Kenilworth Preservation Group (KPG).

Chazin also said the aim of the lawsuit is to force the Metropolitan Council to perform another environmental study, as the light rail plans have changed in the process of gaining consent from the cities involved.

“We filed the lawsuit to prevent [the Metropolitan Council] from moving forward until they have the environmental study that is required by law to be done,” Chazin said.

According to the LPA’s website, they maintain the Metropolitan Council has not explored the other viable ways to route the light rail. One of these options would be to leave the freight train in the corridor and sink the tracks into a tunnel, according to Chazin.

Laura Baenen, the communications manager for the light rail project, said in an email interview that while the Metropolitan Council is not commenting on the lawsuit, they have previously said they intend to continue the project unless stopped by a court.

Baenen also said an official environmental review will be released to the public for comment in 2015, which will address many of the issues brought up by the LPA and the KPG.

Chazin said if the Metropolitan Council loses the lawsuit, they could have to reapply for federal funding. Also, he said they would have to ask the municipalities involved, such as St. Louis Park and Eden Prairie, to vote again after the new environmental study is conducted.

“We’re just asking them to comply with federal and state law,” Chazin said.

Metropolitan Council Chairwoman Susan Haigh was unavailable for comment.