We saw this one coming — the first lawsuit after the groundbreaking for the InterCounty Connector that was a big part of Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s campaign promise to the Washington region. The Sierra Club and Environmental Defense have filed notice that they will sue based on the region’s existing failure to meet air quality mandates and the potential that construction of the ICC will make things worse.

The ICC is the highway that would connect Interstate 270 with Interstate 95 and provide the only real east-west connection between the two. It has been called a number of things by those opposed to it over the years, including the first leg of an outer Beltway. That second Beltway was actually part of the regional master plan many years ago but unlike the ICC, which has stayed on the plans for nearly five decades, the outer Beltway was erased. Make no mistake, local politicians want the ICC, but they want it for more than just the benefit of the commuting public.