FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Josh Tulkin, josh.tulkin@mdsierra.org, 240-764-5307
I-495 and I-270 Toll Lane Expansion Plan
Riverdale, MD - This week, the Sierra Club along with 43 organizations and the City of Rockville, issued a blistering critique of the controversial I-495 and I-270 toll lane expansion final environmental document (FEIS). The review, supported by expert statements from a range of disciplines and drafted with the assistance of the law firm Jill Grant & Associates, LLC, reveals failures of the environmental review process that, if not addressed, violate the National Environmental Policy Act and other governing statutes. Despite these flaws, federal and state agencies are expected to formally approve the project on August 5th.
The Sierra Club’s document responds to the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) release of the FEIS on June 17 for a 30-day “availability period.” The proposed project would have severe adverse effects on communities in these corridors and on the region’s air, water, parks, and noise levels.
The legal and technical expert review of the over 26,000-page FEIS identifies serious problems with the analyses including the FEIS’s failure to:
- Allow meaningful public comment throughout the NEPA review process, in part by failing to provide key documents and analyses that underpin the FEIS
- Address previous and new, serious flaws in the traffic analysis
- Adequately assess impacts to public health from the construction and operation of the project
- Adequately address significant adverse effects on sensitive historic and cultural resources
- Adequately address environmental justice issues.
The expert review and its attached exhibits can be read below. Those who reviewed the FEIS included national and international experts in traffic modeling, road safety, public health, epidemiology, historic resources, and rare and endangered species.
Sierra Club et al. FEIS Comments, July 18, 2022
- Exhibit A: Compiled Letters Regarding Extension of Comment Period
- Exhibit B: Smart Mobility, Inc., Review of Maryland I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation, July 2022
- Exhibit C: Comment on Protected PDF Format and Jeffrey T. Folden Response, July 2022
- Exhibit D: Benjamin Ross, Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition, July 11, 2022 Letter to Deputy Sec. Polly Trottenberg
- Exhibit E: Roselie Ann Bright, Comments on FEIS Regarding Lack of Analysis of Health Impacts, July 14, 2022
- Exhibit F: Ron Bialek, Letter to MD Sierra Club Reviewing and Commenting on I-495 & I-270 MS FEIS, July 16, 2022
- Exhibit G: ZAMURS AND ASSOCIATES, LLC, Review and Comment I-495 and I-270 Managed Lanes Study Final Environmental Impact Study and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation, June 2022
- Exhibit H: Arthur Katz Comments on FEIS Traffic Concerns, July 2022
- Exhibit I: Byron Bloch Comments on FEIS Safety Concerns, July 2022
- Exhibit J: WBFC Determination of Eligibility, August 20, 2021
- Exhibit K: Shannon Browne Letter to MD Sierra Club on FEIS Analysis of Impacts to Bats, July 18, 2022
- Exhibit L: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) Meeting Notes, November 1, 2019
- Exhibit M: Washington Biologists’ Field Club (WBFC) Comments on MLS-106, February 3, 2022