Where is the Draft Envronmental Impact Statement??

[Chief]

Everything about the Columbia River Crossing Project hinges upon the publication of the DEIS. Nothing can go forward until that document is released, and we still have not seen it yet.

It was originally slated to be out last month, but at the last Task Force meeting, Doug Ficco estimated that it would be published March 7th. Today is the 12th, and no workd on it yet.

The mandatory 60 Day Public Comment period begins when the DEIS is published, and the Task Force freted over holding a vote to approve the Locally Preferred option before the end of that period...

I'll make some inquiries.

[Chief]

The latest word, which is about a week old, is that the new date of publication is Monday, March 24th.

That's just over a 2 week slide in the publication date, so that pushes the comment period close date to about May 24, give or take a day...but that is Memorial Day weekend, so the earliest that the Task Force could schedule a vote will be Tuesday, May 27th.

And that is only IF the DEIS gets published on 3/24...

Developing...

[tefen]

This is juicy, Chief. It would appear that the Vancouver Business Journal knows something the rest of us don't. I've barely gotten through three paragraphs and am amazed.

http://www.vbjusa.com/stories/2008-03-07/a_toll_on_trucking.html

Rates, which are set by the Washington Transportation Commission, would vary depending on vehicle size and time of day. Draft charts show they could be as high as $20 round-trip for large trucks during peak times or as low as $1 round-trip for cars from midnight to 5 a.m.


...


Overall tolls are expected to bring in $1.5 billion per year, and Anderson said they could be in place 30 to 40 years to cover construction and maintenance costs.

Math please? $45-60 billion in tolls to pay off a 4 (ok, maybe 8 ) billion dollar project?

[Chief]

There was already discussion in Olympia about what they could do with "the new revenue stream from the Columbia Crossing"...

The fix is in...

[Waterbuffalo]

I'll note the same.. The date was never platformed or certain.. Though I do remember from the January meeting that it was set for Mid March or the first of April for the release of the DEIS.. After that, there is a 60 day clock that ticks..

[Chief]

I'll note the same.. The date was never platformed or certain.. Though I do remember from the January meeting that it was set for Mid March or the first of April for the release of the DEIS.. After that, there is a 60 day clock that ticks..

You are mixing your dates up. Doug Ficco estimated the publishing date would be March 7th, and they set the next meeting for late April.

Check your notes.

[Waterbuffalo]

Am I wrong in my estimations from the Columbia River Crossing meeting in Jan or Feb. that THAT date was still floating around and had not been pinned down?

From tefen's description, it seemed like it STILL had not been pinned to a solid date.

I'll go with your original post Chief of March 24th, not March 7th... Reading your commentary from above...

[Chief]

The latest word, which is about a week old, is that the new date of publication is Monday, March 24th.

That is the quote you should "go with" WB. That is the best information available.

[Chief]

Updating...

I just received word from one of my sources that the date for publication of the DEIS has been slid again; now the earliest date of publication is April 18, and possibly as late as May 2nd.

I am reliably told that the reason is that both the Federal Hoghway Adminstration and the Federal Transit Administration have both been examining the package with a fine toothed comb, and are requiring hundreds of more pages of additional documentation.

Also, those of us who have been paying attention to this whole project will really appreciate this next part...

Also, the feds have apparently nixed the whole "staff preferred alternative" because it would prejudice the public comment...

If that sounds familiar, it's because Commissioner Steve Stuart has been on the project staff and the Task Force about that for months! It's a good thing someone at the Federal level is listening.

Now the question becomes, what will happen next? This kind of delay puts a serious, very serious delay into the Program. If they can't publish the DEIS until May 2, that means the public comment period won't close until July 2nd, and the Task Force doesn't dare vote on anything until after the comment period is over. And the Federal Financing package can't go in until the Task Force formally approves....something.

This puts an entirely new spin on things from my view...

Developing...

[Chief]

If the "Locally Preferred Option" is out, per the Feds, then what the hell are they going to do now??

Everything that was planned out for how to finance this scheme was based upon ramming the LPA through as fast as could be arranged. If the entire concept of an LPA is out, as prepared by Staff, and the Fed are going to require that a real "Locally Preferred Option" be prepared, that sets a number of things back to square one, and pretty much rips the guts right out of the express-train financing plan that has been planned all of this time...

WB, back be up on this line of thought. You've attended the meetings and know as much about the LPA as I do. It's been all but written for what, a year??

tefen, I want you to weigh in on this as well...

[Chief]

So now the Project Office has weighed in, as you can see by the E-Update that the CRCP released late this afternoon.

I stand by my earlier report on this.

My source for those 2 dates has impeccable credentials and I regard them as a very reliable source of credible information. You will notice that nothing the Project Office said discounts my earlier words.

The duplicitive and secretive way the CRCP operates has been part of the problem all along. The Project Office does one thing, and the Task Force says another. WSDOT seems to be in the driver's seat but as I have said before, Engineers make lousy Politicians, and the Project Staff is chock full of Engineers who are very good at designing bridges, and miserably unprepared to deal with a Public (like me) who is demanding answers, and some accounting for the $65 Million Dollars we have poured down that black hole down there for the last couple of years.

It's time to stop playing footsie with the public, own up to some of the realities of the situation, and start talking about a real Alternative that the locals might be able to support.

I'll be very interested to read part two of John Laird's CRCP rant this Sunday, and since they have no doubt already pretty much committed to most of Sunday's paper, he's bound to be so far off in left field as to have his pick of the nosebleed seats...

We shall see...

ddrrii

[Chief]

No mention of any of this in either morning paper. Maybe on Sunday.

8)

[Chief]

It's April, and we still have no firm idea when the DEIS will be published. The last update from the CRCP mentioned they would have more information at some future date, but there's no idea about when that will be either.

Last report I had from a very credible source was late April or early May, but that's only if they can satisfy the Federal Transportation authorities...

Ongoing more than Developing...

8)

[Waterbuffalo]

I'll be reading more of these threads with interest as I was gone for a week in New York looking at some vacation destinations?

Hope to read more soon.

[Chief]

bumping...

I hear a preliminary copy is on the street circulating, and I would love to get my hands on a bootleg copy of this public document. I protect my sources, so if you can get me a copy I'll guarantee your anonymity...

Developing...

[Waterbuffalo]

I just got an email from the CRC team saying the definitive date of release of the DEIS will be May 2nd. Which will be about ten days from now.

Did you get the same email?