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J.R. 14
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PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor
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WHEREAS, The DEIS study concluded that there are no practicable or feasible
transit alternatives to the ICC; and
WHEREAS, Using modern environmental design and mitigation techniques,
such as elevated "end-on" construction, limited tunneling in key sections,
community-oriented and aesthetically pleasing landscaping and design, and
advanced storm drainage filtration and collection systems would make the ICC a
national model for environmentally sensitive, community-oriented design and
mitigation techniques; and
WHEREAS, State and federal regulatory agencies have consistently approved
projects with similar environmental impacts because of these modern environmental
design and mitigation techniques, after a full and complete NEPA process; and
WHEREAS, The most recent study of the ICC performed in 2001 by the
Montgomery County Planning Board's 34-member Transportation Policy Report
(TPR) Task Force found that the ICC on the Master Plan Alignment is the single most
effective road or transit project for relieving traffic congestion and improving travel
times on areas roads; and
WHEREAS, A majority of the TPR Task Force voted to support construction of
the ICC; and
WHEREAS, The Transportation Solutions Group, the most recent
State-appointed study commission on this issue, recommended building the ICC
using advanced environmental mitigation and design, aesthetically pleasing
landscaping and pedestrian paths, and other parkway-style design elements; and
WHEREAS, The ICC would provide a capability for express bus service
conveniently linking major job and population centers in the I-270 corridor and
outlying communities to BWI Airport, downtown Baltimore, Prince George's County,
and elsewhere; and
WHEREAS, Alternative financing methods, including public-private
partnerships, could create alternative, non-tax, revenue sources to fund all or
substantially all ICC construction and maintenance costs; and
WHEREAS, The NEPA requires completion of a DEIS, a Final Environmental
Impact Statement, and Record of Decision, which are designed precisely to weigh all
reasonable alternatives in an open process before rendering a final decision; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, That the
General Assembly urges the Governor to direct the Secretary of the Department of
Transportation to restart and bring to its full conclusion a National Environmental
Policy Act environmental impact statement process on the Intercounty Connector, as
recommended by the Montgomery County Planning Board's Transportation Policy
Report Task Force, and carry that process through to a Record of Decision as
prescribed by law; and be it further
RESOLVED, That such a study include at least one alternative along the ICC
Master Plan Alignment for a limited-access, east-west, multi-modal connector road
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- 4361 -
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