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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposal to widen Interstates 270 and 495 in Prince George鈥檚 and Montgomery counties is not getting a lot of love from
The commission staffers said a draft environmental impact statement released last week fails to properly analyze impacts on low-income communities, understates the loss of parks and cultural sites, and neglects to account for current and future stormwater runoff.
They also faulted the state for not connecting proposed 鈥渆xpress toll鈥� lanes to the University of Maryland Medical Center now under construction in Largo. The panel鈥檚 chairman said the environmental impact statement undercut a long-held pledge from Hogan.
Hogan wants to use a public-private partnership in which a consortium of large international firms would finance, build and maintain the new lanes for decades in exchange for the right to set and collect tolls on them. All existing lanes on the highways would remain free.
While the commissioners listening to the presentation agreed with all of the issues cited, they had a bigger one of their own.
鈥淲hen are we going to talk about money?鈥� asked Montgomery County Commissioner Natali Fani-Gonzalez.
She is worried that the counties are going to be hit with a big bill to pay for the project.
鈥淲e have millions of people under unemployment, and now we鈥檙e thinking about paying for this project? I鈥檓 not going to be stuck with this deal. My generation and my children? This is dead before arrival. It’s not OK,鈥� Fani-Gonzalez said.
Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson echoed those concerns.
Anderson said the draft impact statement significantly undercuts Hogan鈥檚 oft-repeated pledge that the $9.6 billion project can be built without taxpayer subsidy or risk.
鈥淭he draft shows that it will be difficult or impossible for this project to be delivered without a significant source of revenue beyond tolls,鈥� he said.
Anderson noted that the governor has promised to provide money generated by the project to counties in the Washington, D.C., region to improve transit service.
He said potential litigation, a spike in cost of materials and the potential need to relocate underground water pipes could add significantly to the project鈥檚 cost.
鈥淣obody in Montgomery County or Prince George鈥檚 wants to be stuck with the bill for a project that experiences cost growth beyond what can be covered by tolls,鈥� he added.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Gregory Slater conceded that some portions of the multi-part project may not make money and will need 鈥済ap funding.鈥� He did not identify the source of those funds.
On balance, the state will not be subsidizing the project, he said.
鈥淔or the study outlined in the DEIS includes multiple projects implemented over multiple years at different times, you have to account for the differences in market conditions that will determine the cost of construction and financing at the actual time of construction for each particular phase,鈥� he said.
鈥淚n a NEPA document like this that includes multiple construction projects, you do that by showing the variances in those conditions with a range. As outlined early on, some sections will be profitable and some will need gap funding. The state remains committed to delivering this critical infrastructure project at no net cost to the state.鈥�
After Hogan unveiled plans to use a public private partnership to widen I-270, the Beltway and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (later dropped) in 2017, polls showed support for the idea. But that was before another high-profile 鈥淧3,鈥� the Purple Line, became enmeshed in a contractual stalemate that threatens to bring work to a standstill.
Other concerns fell into several other broad categories:
Environmental justice
Planners said federal environmental law requires the Maryland Department of Transportation to assess a project鈥檚 impact on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color so that mitigation can be included.
鈥淒ata has been collected, however the analysis has not been done,鈥� said Debra Borden, the lead Prince George鈥檚 County planner for the project. 鈥淭he analysis should look at air/noise/water pollution, hazardous waste, aesthetic value [and] community cohesion, which is very important because the Beltway has already bisected some of these communities in the past.鈥�
鈥淏ecause the analysis has not been done, we can鈥檛 even talk about what mitigation strategies we might want to see in those areas,鈥� she added.
Borden said state officials have told local planners they intend to conduct that analysis after they select their final design. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 too late,鈥� she told the panel. 鈥淭hese are our communities. To say that we are not happy about the lack of analysis in this area is an understatement.鈥�
Borden said her comments applied to both counties through which the project would be built, but she noted that 90% of the affected communities in Prince George鈥檚 are low income or majority-minority and therefore 鈥渜ualify for this kind of mitigation and community benefits discussion.鈥�
鈥淲e want to get to that discussion sooner rather than later, and shoehorning it in at the end of the discussion is not really appropriate.鈥�
MNCPPC General Counsel Adrian Gardner, who described himself as a 鈥減roud son鈥� of Glenarden, a community that was divided by the completion of the Beltway in the 1960s, echoed Borden鈥檚 comments.
鈥淏y not doing this analysis now, you鈥檙e going to exacerbate a problem that really started a long time ago,鈥� he said.
Impact on parks and cultural features
Planners said the state鈥檚 tentative plans would require 31 acres of parkland 鈥� 24 from Montgomery and seven from Prince George鈥檚.
They said the project鈥檚 鈥渓imits of disturbance鈥� 鈥� the areas near the existing roads that will need to be taken to construct on-and-off ramps, primarily 鈥� have been understated.
They also said that numerous cultural, historical and archaeological sites haven鈥檛 been properly cataloged. They include cemeteries (including some where slaves are buried), parks, and historic housing.
鈥淲e鈥檙e concerned that they鈥檙e showing a very conservative area,鈥� said Jennifer Stabler, the Prince George鈥檚 Planning Department鈥檚 archaeologist. 鈥淭hey saying that they鈥檙e not going to tear any houses down, but I can鈥檛 imagine that they will not have to do that. Some of the houses are very close to the current Beltway.鈥�
Montgomery County Parks Cultural Resources supervisor Joey Lampl said 鈥渃ritical archaeological evaluations and boundaries for significant historic sites鈥� are missing.
鈥淲e cannot properly assess the impact of the project upon these resources if they are not fully evaluated,鈥� she said.
Lampl said her agency anticipates calling in the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to mediate the county鈥檚 dispute with the state, 鈥渢o assist us in getting the full and proper identification, assessment and mitigation.鈥�
Stormwater runoff warnings
Planners found fault with the state鈥檚 plan for addressing existing and future stormwater runoff adjacent to the two roads.
鈥淚t completely ignores the decades of degradation that the existing highways have inflicted on our local land,鈥� said Erin McCardle, a Montgomery Parks engineer.
鈥淭he hundreds of acres of new impervious surfaces that they propose for off-site treatment鈥� is completely unacceptable. It will not adequately protect our downstream resources and our downstream infrastructure.鈥�
McCardle called on MDOT to go beyond 鈥渢he bare minimum鈥� required by statute, and for any new commitment to be incorporated in writing in all future decisions and documents. 鈥淭his is the best opportunity they will ever get to address some of these issues.鈥�
She said if the state doesn鈥檛 force the concessionaire to address the issue when building the new lanes, 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to come at a high cost to local governments and local taxpayers鈥� in the future.
In a statement, MDOT spokesman Terry Owens said the DEIS was developed 鈥渋n cooperation鈥� with Maryland鈥檚 local and federal partners and that it 鈥渃omplies with all federal requirements including the听.鈥�
He said the state values its relationship with M-NCPPC and will review all comments received prior to the agency鈥檚 work on the Final Environment Impact Statement. The project will 鈥渄eliver improvements for the quality of life Marylanders including a new American Legion Bridge for the National Capital Region and infrastructure improvements to reduce congestion that would take decades to deliver without a P3 solution.鈥�
Access to Prince George鈥檚 Hospital听
Commissioners and planning staff renewed their push for improved access for toll lane drivers whose destination is the new UMMS facility under construction in Largo.
The current plan includes an exit for northbound drivers at Landover Road (Route 202) and a southbound off-ramp at Central Avenue (Route 214). Those exits were added in response to earlier pleas from county leaders.
But on Wednesday planners insisted that the facility deserves full access at both exits, so motorists don鈥檛 have to drive past the hospital and then backtrack on local roads.
鈥淭his is so key to Prince George鈥檚 County,鈥� said M-NCPPC Vice Chairwoman Elizabeth Hewlett. 鈥淔or me that鈥檚 just non-negotiable.鈥�
MDOT鈥檚 Owens said the state has provided 鈥渄irect access locations to the managed lanes at multiple interchanges to serve traffic in the region.鈥�
鈥淚nterchange access locations at MD 202 and MD 214 may serve traffic for the hospital,鈥� he added.
The release of the DEIS on July 10 begins a 90-day public comment period that includes four virtual town halls in August and two in-person events in September, one in each county.
The planning commission鈥檚 views on the project are potentially crucial to the project. Under the Capper-Cramton Act, a 90-year-old law used to acquire land for the construction of the George Washington Parkway, the state can only obtain M-NCPPC parcels that were transferred from the federal government with the agency鈥檚 approval.
草莓传媒’s Michelle Murillo contributed to this report.
