Rio de Janeiro's Olympic golf course "faces an uncertain future after a court proposed Wednesday that the under-construction layout should be modified to meet environmental concerns," according to the AP. Judge Eduardo Klausner, hearing a lawsuit brought against the city of Rio de Janeiro and the course developer, said that "the defendants had to return Sept. 17 to say if they could accept the proposal." Klausner said that "work on the course could continue, but no new areas of vegetation could be plowed under." Local Olympic organizing committee spokesperson Mario Andrada "tried to find an upside." Andrada said, "We are happy the construction on the course has not been stopped." In a "raucous, at times chaotic two-hour-long hearing, Klausner heard from environmentalists, biologists and Rio city hall's top environmental official, as well as attorneys from both sides." Klausner "played the role of mediator, nudging the public prosecutors, who brought the suit, to offer a proposal that would preserve as much of the Atlantic rainforest area as possible while allowing the course work to continue." Klausner: "It is in society's interests that the Olympics take place and it's also in society's interests that the environment be preserved. What has to be observed is legality, and within legality is respect for the environment." A spokesperson for the Switzerland-based Int'l Golf Federation was not immediately available for comment. However, in a recent interview, IGF VP Ty Votaw said that "there were alternative plans if changes demanded them." Votaw: "There are contingency plans" (AP, 9/4).
