|
|
May 3, 2012
More Info: Monroe Bypass
Print This Press Release
Appeals court rules federal, state agencies illegally approved controversial NC highway
Ruling a wake-up call for DOTs nationwide to consider sprawl, other impacts of major highway projects
David Farren, Senior Attorney and Leader of SELC’s Transportation Initiative, 919-444-8717
Cat McCue, Senior Communications Manager, 434-977-4090 (email)
Richmond, VA – In a landmark ruling that has national implications, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration illegally failed to consider and disclose the potential sprawl-inducing impacts of a 20-mile highway bypass near Charlotte.
The court also chastised the transportation agencies for falsely denying to the public and other permitting agencies that they had essentially compared “building the road” with “building the road.”
“This is a wake-up call for NCDOT and transportation agencies around the country that the only legal way to assess environmental impacts of building major highways is to factor in resulting sprawl development on the landscape,” said David Farren, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. He said this is one of a only a few federal appellate rulings dealing with the fundamental precept that DOTs fully consider these secondary and cumulative impacts of building major highways when conducting environmental impact studies under the National Environmental Policy Act.
SELC represented Clean Air Carolina, North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and Yadkin Riverkeeper in challenging the agencies’ approval of the controversial Monroe Bypass, a $700 million, four-lane highway on the suburban-rural fringe of metro Charlotte, one of the nation’s fastest growing metro areas.
The groups said the NCDOT and FHWA turned logic on its head by assuming the bypass already existed when they analyzed a “no build” option. This fundamental flaw skewed the examination of cheaper and less damaging alternatives, and prevented a valid comparison of potential environmental impacts. Using faulty assumptions and flawed methodology, the transportation agencies claimed the Monroe Bypass would only make a one percent difference in the level of growth in the region. When the conservation groups pointed out this flaw, NCDOT denied it – a falsehood that was conceded only when confronted in court.
In a 16-page ruling (pdf), the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the flawed environmental impact statement, calling into question the validity of multiple permits that have been issued for the project. “The record here is devoid of any evidence establishing that the region is developmentally saturated such that a major toll road will no have no appreciable environmental impact,” the court wrote. “Here the Agencies not only failed to disclose the assumptions underlying [their data], but provided the public with erroneous information.”
The highly controversial Monroe Bypass would include no less than nine interchanges in 20 miles, on average one every two miles. The highway and ensuing development would pose a threat to water quality in the Yadkin River watershed, which provides drinking water for people and habitat for several rare aquatic species, and would increase vehicle-exhaust pollution in metro Charlotte, which just last week received an “F” for ozone pollution in the American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report. The existing parallel U.S. 74 corridor is highly congested, but DOT ignored its own study suggesting that all but one of the intersections could be improved for a cost of only $15 million.
“Residents of the Charlotte region can breathe a little easier now that the 4th Circuit has put the brakes on the Monroe Bypass,” said June Blotnick, executive director of Clean Air Carolina. “This decision comes during EPA’s Air Quality Awareness Week as we call attention to the causes of air pollution like major highway projects. Clean Air Carolina looks forward to a new environmental impact statement that shows the true cost this highway will have on our region’s air, water and wildlife.”
****************************
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of 50 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
FACEBOOK: www.Facebook.com/SouthernEnvironment
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/selc_org
Court ruling delays Monroe Bypass
By Steve Harrison
sharrison@charlotteobserver.com
By Steve Harrison The Charlotte Observer
Posted: Thursday, May. 03, 2012
Modified: Thursday, May. 03, 2012 More Information
Map: Route of the Monroe Connector-Bypass
The planned $700 million Monroe Connector-Bypass is in doubt after the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond Thursday ruled in favor of environmental groups who had sued to stop construction.
The court, in an unanimous ruling, said the N.C. Department of Transportation and other agencies “failed to disclose critical assumptions….and instead provided the public with incorrect information.”
The DOT violated federal policy that requires detailed environmental impact analysis for new highways, the court found.
The state had planned to begin construction on the toll road later this year. Now the N.C. Turnpike Authority, an arm of the state DOT, may have to re-do its impact analysis and apply for new permits, which could take years.
“They are back to square one,” said David Farren, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill, which was sued to stop the highway on behalf of several environmental groups. “The court found fundamental flaws in their analysis. And they found they weren’t forthcoming with public.”
The toll road is designed to serve as a bypass around congested U.S. 74 in Union County.
The state was required to do a study comparing the impacts of building the highway against what would happen if they toll road wasn’t build. That is known as a “build vs no build” study.
The Southern Environmental Law Center charged that the state didn’t do the study correctly. When doing its “no build” analysis, the Law Center alleged that the state used data showing the toll road had already been built.
That resulted in a “build vs. build” study, which showed minimal impacts from the highway. The DOT and Turnpike Authority said some mistakes had been made, but argued that the problems were minor and that its engineers had fixed them.
The 4th Circuit said the study was flawed. In its opinion, it wrote the agencies “incorporated ‘build’ assumptions into the ‘no build’ baseline.”’
It also said the agencies “either failed to address the underlying issue or incorrectly stated that the Monroe Connector was not factored into the ‘no build’ baseline.”
N.C. Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said in a statement that his agency is reviewing the ruling with legal and environmental experts.
“While this ruling will cause delays, it does not mean the project will not move forward,” he said. “We hope to have a new plan and timeline developed and released to the public within the next few weeks.”
The DOT could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Copyright 2012 The Charlotte Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/03/3216562/court-ruling-delays-monroe-bypass.html#storylink=cpy
I am getting warmer and fuzzier by the day!
NO T.I.F.I.A. for the Mid-Currituck Bridge. The NCTA has failed for the 3rd time in 2 years to be invited for an application for T.I.F.I.A. financing. This project failed in the past due to financing and environmental issues and it will no doubt fail again for the very same reasons!! Read the article in Toll Road News by clicking on link below.
http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/5906
With the closing of the F.E.I.S. comment period for the Mid-Currituck Bridge, the North Carolina DOT and the Turnpike Authority are answering some tough questions from appeals court judges regarding another controversial Turnpike Project, the Monroe Connector Bypass, near Charlotte. Southern Environmental Law Center and other environmental groups have challenged the environmental studies and their conclusions on the Monroe project. The outcome of the appeals court decision could have major implications for for the Mid-Currituck Bridge project. Below is an article from the Charlotte Observer.
Appeals court in Va. hears challenge of NC bypass
By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press
By STEVE SZKOTAK
Posted: Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2012
Modified: Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2012 RICHMOND, Va.
A federal appeals panel on Wednesday heard a challenge of a proposed toll road in the Charlotte, N.C., area, with opponents claiming state transportation officials used a flawed process to assess the environmental impact of the $800 million project.
Attorneys representing conservation groups want a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court ruling last October allowing the Monroe Bypass to move forward.
The court typically rules a few weeks after hearing arguments.
The 20-mile road southeast of Charlotte would stretch from U.S. 74 near Interstate 485 in Mecklenburg county to U.S. 74 between Wingate and Marshville in Union County. The bypass is intended to ease congestion on U.S. 74, a highway lined with shopping plazas and restaurants that slows to 30 mph or less during peak traffic.
Attorneys for the Southern Environmental Law Center want to return the proposed bypass to the drawing board because they contend the North Carolina Department of Transportation concluded the four-lane bypass would have virtually no impact on development patterns, the Yadkin River watershed or air quality from increased commuting.
Conservation groups such as the North Carolina Wildlife Federation counter that the highway would harm water quality and wildlife habitat in the Yadkin River watershed, encourage sprawl such as strip malls and subdivisions in the rural area, and contribute to air pollution in the Charlotte area.
Many of the arguments heard Wednesday focused on the state’s environmental analysis of the project.
Critics contend an environmental impact study was titled toward building the road and overlooked alternatives.
Under federal environmental law, major highway projects must undergo an environmental review that compares the impact of a project being built versus a no-build option. Opponents said the state used the no-build option in both scenarios, then vastly overstated traffic levels on U.S. 74 if the bypass was not built.
Judges sharply questioned attorneys representing North Carolina on that approach, which was found to be “immaterial” by a lower court that found the environmental review proper.
“Are you saying there was no error?” Judge Diana G. Motz asked Scott T. Slusser, an attorney for the state.
“I would disagree there was an error,” Slusser responded.
The line of questioning apparently referred to an official statement published in the Federal Register in 2010 in which North Carolina transportation officials denied the faulty environmental review.
”So you made an error and did not correct that error?” Judge Dennis Shedd later pressed Slusser.
He responded in the affirmative.
After the hearing, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center said the record is clear.
“The transportation agencies compared not building the road to not building the road, and then denied it,” said David Ferren. He said the 4th Circuit’s finding could influence other planned road projects in the South.
Besides the Wildlife Federation, the groups challenging the bypass also include Clean Air Carolina and the Yadkin Riverkeeper.
Copyright 2012 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/03/21/3114563/appeals-court-in-va-to-hear-nc.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
 The Mid-Currituck Bridge in a Nutshell
http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/midcurrituckbridge/
Please download copy to your computer and review. It can be found about 1/2 way down the project web page. It is very important that we comment on this document. If history repeats itself for the NCTA, the Record of Decision won’t come for about a year. If the ROD includes the bridge, there WILL BE a lawsuit which can add an additional year after the ROD. There is also the problem of how the proposed project will be paid for. This is the middle phase of the proposed project. There is still a LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS!
Environmental Agency Comments to Draft Environmental Imapact Statement. VERY INFORMATIVE.
http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/midcurrituckbridge/download/midcurrituck_SIforFEIS_Vol1_201112.pdf
By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot ©
January 6, 2012
Maple, NC
A Currituck County complex covering nearly 700 acres has the potential to attract enough commercial and residential growth to Maple and Barco to rival Moyock, officials say.
The complex already has an airport, a business park, a large cooperative extensive center and a new YMCA/senior center.
Now the county is planning to spend $9.3 million more over the next five years to build tennis courts, a skateboard park and tournament-quality softball fields. Currituck officials are hoping the new projects will cause restaurants, stores and possibly motels to spring up on nearby farm fields.
Two miles away, at the busy intersection of N.C. 168 and U.S. 158, a 57-acre tract zoned for mixed use of businesses and homes is for sale. Just a few miles north, along N.C. 168, is Nicholson’s Point – a part-residential, part-commercial subdivision that was stalled by the sour economy but could be restarted at any point.
Two years ago, the county mapped Barco and Maple into a plan that allows for clustered development with smaller lots and setbacks. A sewage treatment plant at the Maple complex could be expanded to service the new growth, said Currituck County planning director Ben Woody.
Combine all of that with a new bridge proposed to connect the mainland to Corolla and conditions are ripe for planned growth that could convert the farming communities into what Woody called a more pedestrian-friendly version of Moyock.
“We have a chance to create a unique place,” he said.
With the advantage of sitting near the Chesapeake line, Moyock has grown to a community of about 7,000 – Currituck’s largest, and more than twice the size of Maple and Barco combined.
Barco already is seeing a small sample of development with a convenience store, a bank, a shoe store, a nursing home and crab-processing plant along N.C. 168.
The new bridge would shorten the drive from there to the Outer Banks to about 15 minutes, adding a selling point to the new business park that so far is still vacant, said Currituck economic developer Peter Bishop. The facilities, the bridge, new neighborhoods and businesses could fuel a “mini-reversal” of the recession for the area, Bishop said.
The county business park offers 11 large lots designed to attract light manufacturing. College of the Albemarle and the county plan to build an aircraft maintenance training facility there, and a new YMCA and senior center just opened two weeks ago. A cooperative extension center opened four years ago.
Plans are in the works to build new animal shelter there. The county’s new reverse-osmosis water treatment plant and the sheriff’s office and jail also sit just on the other side of the 5,500-foot airport runway.
Locals have not complained much about the complex or proposed subdivisions, but there is concern.
“I think it’s a good thing, as long as it is being built observing the impacts on people who already live there,” said Ginger Morris, owner of Morris Farm Market in Barco.
John Sawyer, a resident of nearby Ponderosa Mobile Home Park, is less enthused.
“I want it to stay country,” Sawyer said. “We’ve got a 7-Eleven on the corner.”
Jeff Hampton (252) 338-0159 jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
Currituck in race against nature to clear OBX ditches
By Cindy Beamon
The Daily Advance
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
CURRITUCK — Clearing ditches on the Outer Banks has turned out to be a race against nature for Currituck officials.
The county has sought to solve flooding problems on sand roads behind the dunes by clearing out drainage ditches.
That effort ran into a roadblock, however, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied permits for the work. The Corps decided three main ditches in Carova had returned to their “naturalized state” and were no longer eligible for clearing.
Currituck commissioners are now rushing to get permits for other ditches not yet in their “naturalized state” before it is too late.
The county has not yet budgeted the work at Carova and North Swan Beach. But county officials say they want the permits on hand to ensure they can clear the ditches when they get ready. The county plans to dig the ditches, left untended for years, to their original depths.
The drainage ditches are among several options the county is examining to alleviate flooding and puddling on roads like Sand Fiddler and Ocean Pearl. In many cases, the roads have become washboards riddled with potholes.
Commissioners have discussed creating a service district to fix the problem, but it remains unclear if residents would be willing to pay for a new stormwater drainage system. In the past, residents have shoveled sand from the roads to fill their lots, leaving potholes that some hoped would discourage traffic and development on the remote stretch of beach. Now some roads run lower than surrounding lots, making the roads catch-basins for storm run-off.
Commissioner Vance Aydlett, who owns a vacation home in Carova, said only the roads — not homes — flood, unless there’s a nor’easter with 20 or more inches of rain. Less rain can make roads impassable for a while, but residents on the remote stretch of beach have gotten used to the situation, he said.
“There’s a whole lot more to this issue than meets the eye,” said Aydlett.
Commissioner Paul O’Neal recently suggested fixing the roads behind the dunes to alleviate another problem in the four-wheel drive area — too much traffic on beaches during summer months. He said more traffic on roads behind the dunes would mean less traffic on the beach.. County officials have been studying safety issues in the off-road area, but have not acted on suggested changes so far.
Another study may also examine the problem with flooding roads.
County Manager Dan Scanlon said the county plans to conduct a study to examine the impact of future growth in the area designated by the federal government as a COBRA zone. The designation makes homeowners ineligible for federal flood insurance as a way of discouraging growth in areas it deems unsuitable for development.
Despite the designation, development appears to be pushing its way northward to the off-road area. Some officials have predicted that construction of a mid-county bridge would add pressure for more growth.
Agencies agree on bridges for NC 12 breaches
The Associated Press
Thursday, December 15, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A bridge that would rise above the Pamlico Sound and bypass two breaches on N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island caused by Hurricane Irene is among those now being considered as a long-term solution for access to the coastal highway.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representatives proposed a bridge that would start north of a breach on Pea Island and reconnect with land at Rodanthe, the northernmost of the seven villages on Hatteras Island and the site of the second breach, the state Transportation Department said in a news release Thursday.
The proposal came at a meeting of various state and federal agencies involved in finding a more permanent way to repair the road. Early estimates show the bridge would be 5 to 7 miles long, but it’s early in the process to be definitive, DOT spokeswoman Greer Beaty said.
DOT is searching for long-term solutions to breaches on the highway, which is the only link from the island farther north to the mainland. Hurricane Irene, which struck in late August, chewed through the island, which was closed for weeks because of the broken road.
A temporary bridge was built over Pea Island breach, and the road reopened in October.
The agencies rejected beach renourishment as a permanent repair at either breach, leaving individual bridges as the only other options being considered. The only other option for the Pea Island breach is a bridge where the road now stands. For the Rodanthe breach, the agencies agreed that DOT should either build a bridge within the easement or build one that extends into the Pamlico Sound.
“There are laws and regulations associated with some of the options that we are not likely to be able to meet,” Jim Trogdon, DOT’s chief operating officer, said in the release. “By focusing our efforts on the most realistic options, we can more efficiently develop long-term fixes for N.C. 12 that will provide a reliable way for people to get to jobs and education.”
Warren Judge, chairman of the Dare County commissioners, said Thursday that he and other commissioners support beach renourishment as the best way to protect the highway. More important, he said, is just fixing the road.
“We have stated our preference — beach renourishment. And not one-time beach renourishment. You build the beaches and you maintain them,” he said. “But regardless of what the answer is, we need a permanent, reliable, secure transportation link.”
He said he was concerned that DOT would not have the money for the single bridge from Pea Island to Rodanthe.
The agencies involved in the process still must sign a form officially agreeing to narrow the existing options and allow for the inclusion of any new options so the process can continue. The agencies expect that to happen within the coming weeks.
OBX residents: ‘Safe zone’ for beach road unsafe
By Cindy Beamon
The Daily Advance
Saturday, November 19, 2011
CAROVA BEACH — Residents on the Currituck Outer Banks say creating a “safe zone” to veer off-road traffic away from the shoreline will be anything but safe.
The idea of a safe zone sounds good, admits Lynne Wilson, one of 30 off-road residents who met to discuss the proposal last week at the Carova Fire and Rescue station. But residents who drive the beach daily know it will not work, she said. A vote by show of hands indicated the entire group agreed.
“Forcing vehicles to drive along the dune line is a nightmare solution,” said off-road residents Cheryl and Robert Ford. “Not only does it guarantee absolute gridlock for everyone … but it is also damaging to the fragile environment.”
Residents say creating the safe zone will steer traffic to soft, deep sand near the dunes. They predict inexperienced drivers will get stuck and cause a chain reaction as vehicles following behind lose traction when forced to stop. They say not only will traffic back up, but response times for emergency vehicles will suffer.
Donnie Tadlock of Carova Fire and Rescue said most accidents already happen near the dune line. In one case, a person got stuck in the soft sand and was injured as another vehicle circled around.
The safe zone is one of several changes being considered by Currituck commissioners to relieve heavy traffic and safety concerns on crowded off-road beaches during the height of tourist season. The safe zone would steer traffic away from one or two miles of shoreline so beach-goers do not have to cross traffic to swim.
Under present conditions, traffic on the 11-mile stretch of beach travels hard-packed sand near the foreshore and softer sand along the dune line while vehicles park in between. Sunbathers going for a swim have to cross traffic to reach the water.
Residents said the change in traffic pattern will not solve the problem.
“The problem is the volume of cars,” said Marie Long, who lives at Milepost 14.5, a location suggested for the proposed safe zone.
She’s counted 200 tightly packed vehicles lining less than a mile of beach in July. That many cars makes it difficult for residents, and even those who rent beach homes, to access the beach, which should be their right, she said.
Long said watching vehicles from her oceanfront home would convince anyone that redirecting traffic near the dune line would be a disaster.
“All you have to do is see it,” she said.
Long said the gridlock could cause motorists to damage dunes as they try to veer around traffic.
The residents said rather than creating a safe zone, the county should focus on two other solutions. One would be stricter enforcement of existing rules.
The county ordinance states that lawn chairs, coolers, fishing lines and people cannot block traffic driving on the foreshore.
Rufus Baldwin said beach-goers set up “tent cities” and other obstacles that block traffic, but the law is not always enforced. Instead, beach-goers wave him to go around or yell when he drives along the shoreline on his way home.
Rusty Thrasher said he was threatened after his radio antenna snagged a fishing line straddling the beach road.
“Word has gotten out they don’t have to follow the rules,” Long said of beach-goers.
The other solution suggested by residents — a permit system — has drawn the most criticism from some
|
|
Recent Comments