Co. wants more time to answer questions on connector

Officials don't feel response time frame is reasonable

Friday, Dec. 26, 2008

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent the county a letter last month requesting more information about the proposed highway between Waldorf and Bryans Road. It requested a response by Friday, Dec. 19.

On Monday, the county's press secretary, George Clarkson, said the county has requested a 90-day extension from the corps in order to have more time to gather the information requested.

In a letter to the corps, Planning and Growth Management Director Melvin C. Beall Jr. wrote, "Given that the public hearing was held nearly five months ago, and that [the] public record was held open for 75 days, we do not feel that the 30 day response time frame is reasonable [compared] to the response time-frame granted to both the agencies as well as the public. Further, the comments contained in your letter are substantial, with some being time-of-year dependent, and will require additional time in order for the county to appropriately respond."

Beall added that the county has yet to receive comments from the Maryland Department of the Environment, which also participated in the July public hearing and must issue its own permit for the project. Beall asked the corps to work with MDE "to expedite the production and delivery of the anticipated comments in order for the county to efficiently respond to both permitting agencies."

The highway, which is supported by the county commissioners, developers and the county's fire and rescue community, suffered several setbacks this year as environmental watchdogs hammered the project in public hearings and media forums. Federal and state agencies have also failed to issue necessary permits, and it is unclear if or when they might.

At a public hearing in July, the county and its supporters in the development and volunteer rescue communities argued for the road as a replacement for the aging and dangerous northern section of Billingsley Road as well as an engine for economic growth.

The connector currently consists of the four-lane sections of Billingsley stretching from Route 5 and stopping at Middletown Road in Waldorf. The last three phases of the highway would deviate from the Billingsley alignment, requiring a new crossing of the Mattawoman Creek.

Conservationists argue that the road and the development it would enable would destroy the creek, which is currently the cleanest of the Chesapeake Bay's fish spawning grounds. In recent months, local environmentalists, working with statewide groups, pressured MDE and the corps to require the county to complete an environmental impact statement, which would quantify the project's impact on the local ecosystem.

In November, MDE was prepared to deny a necessary permit for the project unless the county requested an extension of the review period. The corps then asked the county to answer several questions about the highway by the middle of this month, signaling that they might require the county to complete an EIS before proceeding.

By law, MDE must issue a decision on the connector by May, but the corps has not indicated when it will issue a decision.

The county claims it has provided agencies with enough information to make a favorable decision and said that the longer the agencies delay their decision, the more the project will cost taxpayers.

jfriess@somdnews.com