Delays to the NEPA Process
The complex Northern Corridor NEPA process requires amendments to three major plans and considerable time to prepare. CSU has described these plan amendments as the 3 legs of the NEPA stool:
1- Right-of-way application for the Northern Corridor Highway and Red Cliffs NCA Resource Management Plan Amendment
2- Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan Renewal
3- St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan Amendment
We must advocate for study of outside-NCA routes during scoping. Utah Department of Transportation will claim that they need the Northern Corridor Highway to move people and goods from east to west across northern St. George. Great! There are many reasonable ways of doing that!
You can help CSU provide transportation ideas and point out resource damage (see the 9 resource values that could be impacted by the highway in the side bar) during scoping, the first NEPA public comment period. We will keep you posted as to when that will occur.
Things to watch for….
We need to encourage BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure that the modeling provided to them is as complete as possible. It’s critical that the travel demand model be independently verified. We also need to make sure that alternatives to the Northern Corridor suggested during scoping are reviewed fairly.
Conclusion
Enactment language for the National Environmental Policy Act is beautiful when read with an eye for balance and respect for the earth. It is good that Northern Corridor NEPA process is slowing down to gather the data necessary for making an informed and appropriate decision.
We – CSU with your help – can take a “hard look” at NEPA to make sure that the process unfolds fairly, without bias or corrupt influence. We need your ideas but we can’t do our work without money.
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