The N.C. Department of Transportation has withdrawn its application for federal and state water-quality permits that are needed to build the toll road. The DOT wrote that the move was prompted by a fear of being sued. David Farren of Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill explained to the Charlotte Observer that the issue was similar to that with the Monroe Connector-Bypass:
“In 30 years of practicing law, I’ve never seen someone drop a permit application because they might get sued,” Farren said. “There are defects in the Garden Parkway study that are similar to what the court found deficient with Monroe.”
Is Farren correct in his assertion? Almost certainly. Recall that in doing its analysis of the environmental impact of the Monroe project, the state used data provided by the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization. MUMPO’s modeling assumed that all approved project were built. The Monroe Connector-Bypass was an approved project, so state ended up with a build versus build environmental assessment.
MUMPO also lists the Garden Porkway on its website. If the Garden Porkway was also considered an approved project, then it’s almost certain that the state’s environmental assessments to date have also been build versus build.
Bonus observation: State transportation dollars are a scarce resource. There are better uses than the Garden Porkway, for which tolls will cover maybe half the costs. Will this delay kill the already controversial project? We shall have to wait in and see but it certain is a major blow.
