Thursday, February 27, 2003
DOT 15b-03
Contact: Leonardo Alcivar
Telephone: 202-366-5580
U.S.
Transportation Secretary Mineta Places Intercounty Connector on Priority List
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today placed
the Intercounty Connector (ICC) in Montgomery County, Maryland, on a project
priority list to help facilitate a solution to the differences among federal,
state and local agencies involved in the environmental review and approval
process. Projects on the priority
list receive accelerated environmental reviews under President Bush’s
executive order on environmental stewardship.
“President Bush asked that we facilitate the
environmental review process for transportation investments so that they could
be completed more quickly, at less cost and without damaging the environment,”
said Secretary Mineta. “The
initiative on environmental stewardship is a pioneering effort in transportation
that will benefit taxpayers and help build a better future for all Americans.
An intercounty connector built consistent with federal law would
contribute to the mobility and security of the Washington, DC metropolitan area
by providing additional highway capacity.”
“We have an overarching responsibility to the public to
be advocates for safety and mobility,” said FHWA Administrator Mary Peters.
“This project helps us fulfill those responsibilities because it will
improve mobility and safety on the nationally significant I-95 corridor.”
The ICC is one of six projects on the project priority list
created as a result of the President’s Sept. 18 executive order,
“Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project
Reviews.” The executive order
called for a Cabinet-level task force to ensure projects are not unnecessarily
held up by inefficient review procedures. The
ICC was one of 70 transportation construction projects nominated for expedited
environmental review by governors from around the country, with input from
metropolitan planning organizations.
The Cabinet-level task force, chaired by Secretary Mineta,
will review projects on the priority project list and work to expedite
environmental reviews. In addition
to Secretary Mineta, the task force members include the U.S. Secretaries of
Agriculture, Commerce, the Interior and Defense, as well as the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency, Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
Administrator Peters said that the priority project review
process reflects the Administration’s commitment to the environmental
stewardship. All projects on the
list will be required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and
all other environmental statutes.
Additional information about the President’s executive order and the project priority list is on the Internet at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/stewardshipeo.
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