Forwarded by Tom Mathews, Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter transportation issue
chair.

Subj:    How has NEPA helped your community?
Date:   03-01-09 14:48:43 EST
From:   [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]

To:  Sprawl and Transportation Activists
From: Melody Flowers, Rosalie Wagner (new sprawl intern)
Re: NEPA Success Stories

As the reauthorization of the federal transportation spending bill, TEA-21,
comes closer, some folks in Congress and the Bush Administration have
attacked the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as a hindrance to
building much needed transportation projects.  The truth is, NEPA protects
the public's right to have a say in what does or does not get built in
their communitiy, and makes sure that the highest environmental standards
are adhered to.

In order to protect our communities from a weakened environmental review
and public involvement process, we need to get the word out about all the
good things NEPA has done for communities. We are looking for success
stories in which the NEPA process resulted in a better transportation
project that satisfied the community and other parties involved.  Maybe a
proposed highway route was moved to avoid wetlands or farmland.  Maybe a
major road expansion was altered to be a minor expansion with a transit
option.  Maybe they scrapped the highway altogether and instead built a
rail line.  Maybe a historic structure or park was preserved because of the
NEPA process.  We want to collect all of these success stories.

If you know of a NEPA success story, please help us compile the information
by answering the following questions.  Please send responses to
[log in to unmask]  Call 202-675-7915 with any questions.


1)   Name of the project?

2)   Location of the project?

3)   Approximate dates:

4)   What was being proposed?

5)   What agencies were involved in the project (state DOT, MPO, etc.)?

6)   Did people oppose the project?  What were their arguments?

7)   How did the agency proposing the project react?

8)   What was the final result?  What was built?

9)   What changes were made as a result of the NEPA analysis and their
benefits?

10)  Was the community happy with the result?  Environmentalists?



Melody Flowers
Representative, Challenge to Sprawl Campaign
Environmental Quality Program
**************************************************
Sierra Club
408 C Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
P: (202) 675-7915
F: (202) 547-6009
[log in to unmask]

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