20020672 Ver 3_Status of Monroe Bypass and Garden Parkway_20120904

Carpenter,Kristi
From:Karoly, Cyndi
Sent:Tuesday, September 04, 2012 4:15 PM
To:Chapman, Amy
Subject:FW: Status of Monroe Bypass and Garden Parkway

From: Wakild, Chuck
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 4:58 PM
To: Freeman, Dee
Cc: Jones, Lori; Smith, Robin; Bush, Ted; Matthews, Matt; Karoly, Cyndi
Subject: FW: Status of Monroe Bypass and Garden Parkway

Dee,
Here are some bullets providing a DWQ 401 Certification status for these two DOT/Turnpike projects. We'll provide a
similar status on the mid-Currituck bridge project tomorrow. Call if you have questions.

From: Karoly, Cyndi
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 4:37 PM
To: Wakild, Chuck
Cc: Matthews, Matt; Bush, Ted; Wainwright, David; Krebs, Rob
Subject: Status of Monroe Bypass and Garden Parkway

Chuck – per our discussion. Bullet points in bold are current and speculative status, while others are for past context. I’ll
get info about the Mid-Currituck Sound Bridge to you on Wednesday morning.

Rob, David – please advise if any of this is inaccurate.

Monroe Bypass:

Monroe Connector/Bypass (R-3329, R-2559) is a bypass project for US74 through Union County around the

Town of Monroe.

Neither the Corps nor DWQ conducted a public hearing for this project.


Conditional, Phased 401 issued December 22, 2010, requiring final design submittal by NCTA (North Carolina

Turnpike Authority) and approval by DWQ prior to construction.

SELC on behalf of NC Wildlife Federation and Yadkin Riverkeeper filed petition against DWQ for contested case

hearing February 2011.

SELC filed an injunction against NCDOT and FHWA based on the proposed design. They claim that the purpose

and need as stated in the FEIS NEPA document was overly restrictive, the alternatives analysis was flawed, and
the indirect and cumulative effects (ICE) analysis was inappropriate.
th

Federal courts granted summary judgment in favor of DOT and FHWA. SELC appealed summary judgment to 4

Circuit Court of Appeals.
th

On May 3, 2012, the 4 Circuit Court ruled in favor of SELC and remanded the evaluation of the No Build

alternative back to NCDOT and FHWA. The court ruled that NCDOT had knowingly “provided the public with
erroneous information” and mischaracterized “critical aspects of the NEPA process.”

May 24, 2012 – DOT requested withdrawal of 401 application. Note that it was referred to as an application due

to the conditional status of the 401.
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
June 2012 – DWQ acknowledged request for withdrawal of 401, thereby closing file for consideration at this

time.

Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, at DOT with regulatory and resource agencies. Turnpike

Authority’s stated purpose is to “Provide update on project status, review issues raised in legal proceedings,
and discuss next steps.”

If NCTA ultimately re-applies for 404/401 permits, DWQ will need to decide whether or not to hold a public

hearing to glean local input on issues under DWQ jurisdiction, and the Corps will decide whether they will
hold a hearing as well. If the Corps does elect to hold a hearing, it would make sense to conduct a joint
hearing, as the 401 and 404 are linked. A joint hearing allows both agencies to pool resources in terms of staff
time, equipment and logistics, and serves the public interest in having both agencies present to hear
concerns.

Garden Parkway (a.k.a. Gaston East-West Connector):

The Garden Parkway is proposed as a new highway thoroughfare connecting Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties.


NCTA submitted joint application for 404 Permit/401 Certification March 2012. Due to high volume of public

comments submitted to Corps and DWQ, including ~7,000 signatures of petition opposing the project, as well as
substantial negative press, both agencies decided to hold a joint public hearing.

May 2012 - DWQ notified NCTA of intent to conduct public hearing on project. Corps of Engineers subsequently

decided to conduct hearing. DWQ and Corps set date of August 14, 2012 to conduct hearing in local project
area.

SELC submitted comments on 404/401 application on behalf of the Catawba Riverkeeper and Clean Air

Carolina. As with the Monroe Bypass project, the Purpose and Need statement, Alternatives Analysis, and
Indirect and Cumulative Impacts Analysis were among many stated issues of concern.

Neither the Corps nor DWQ made formal public announcement of hearing because on July 10, 2012, NCTA

withdrew the 404/401 application. Stated purpose of withdrawal is NCTA’s “understanding that
environmental groups intend to pursue litigation challenging the environmental study on the project. We will
vigorously defend any future litigation but believe it would be prudent to withdraw the permit application at
this time so that the permits are not in limbo during the probable litigation.” NCTA further states intent to re-
apply at a later date, meanwhile reviewing comments submitted to Corps and DWQ.

Next steps may hinge on outcome of Monroe Bypass project. The two projects share many common

problems related to their NEPA documents. Local opposition to the Garden Parkway is more apparent. As
DWQ and the Corps had already decided to hold a joint hearing, it would make sense to further pursue a
hearing if and when NCTA re-applies for the 404/401.

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