Owens-Chaplin successfully argued that federal air-quality standards are not enough for an environmental justice community facing a 6% increase in air pollution. “Just because that 6% still keeps them under what was allowed by the national air quality standards, does not mean that it’s okay,” she says.

NYCLU retained engineer and air quality expert Ranajit Sahu, whose analysis supported stronger pollution-mitigation measures—building on protections previously secured in Syracuse. Sahu says that Owens-Chaplin’s “mix of compassion, empathy, legal, and technical skills—along with tactical abilities in dealing with myriad regulatory processes” was what made her succeed in the Kensington case.

In addition to urging the state DOT to add HEPA tunnel-exhaust filtration and detailed plans for handling toxic emissions from tunnel and EV-battery fires, NYCLU calls for comprehensive community monitoring—air pollutants, meteorology and noise—before, during, and after construction, with publicly posted data and mitigation required if pollution exceeds pre-construction baseline levels.

NYCLU also argued that developing land created by these types of projects cannot displace and retraumatize Black residents and businesses. State DOT Region 5 Director Eric Meka said in a statement that further legal action “would only lead to additional delays.” In October, the state DOT began community meetings in Buffalo and launched traffic studies as part of the EIS process for a project years away from construction. NYCLU has started parallel virtual community sessions and an educational campaign aimed at countering misinformation.

Sam Radford of the Restore Our Community Coalition, a group pushing for the environmental review, says Owens-Chaplin “brings a rare blend of strategic brilliance, deep integrity and an ability to communicate across sectors—from residents to engineers to policymakers.”

Owens-Chaplin’s coalition met repeatedly with state attorneys, elected officials and residents, while organizing petitions, meetings and lobbying efforts to press for state environmental compliance. She says litigation was necessary after early talks with state DOT officials stalled. She “hoped” the department “learned their lesson” from the Syracuse case, but is optimistic the Kensington case will help prevent litigation over planned projects in Albany and on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in New York City. “Now they know every highway project we’re going to be watching them,” she says.

Despite political uncertainty at the federal level, Owens-Chaplin won’t “stall the work.” She worries less about federal funding for I-81 in Syracuse—which she says is too advanced to lose support—than about keeping momentum in states such as Michigan, which is showing “immense interest” in replicating her blueprint. “Communities that have often felt left out, not heard or ignored,” Owens-Chaplin says, “actually do have remedies.”