SLATER ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT ON ADVANCING GEORGIA TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS AND NEW ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES |
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Topics: Rodney E. Slater
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Federal Highway Administration
January 16, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 16, 1998
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 3-98
Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced an agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve environmental documents for several projects in the Atlanta metropolitan area in a comprehensive series of actions that will help the Atlanta region reduce congestion, clean up its air and improve safety.
"President Clinton is committed to providing our nation with safe and efficient transportation projects that help communities improve their environment and quality of life," Secretary Slater said. "Our agreement with EPA underscores the importance of the Atlanta region addressing its air quality problems quickly. But it also leaves responsibility for solutions to the region’s transportation and air quality where it belongs -- in the hands of state, local and regional governments and the people of the Atlanta area. I commend their efforts to help achieve the goal of a balanced transportation system and a sound environment."
The agreement limits and conditions the approval of two projects and allows three others to proceed as planned. Approvals at the Georgia 400 in Fulton County and the Douglas Boulevard project in Douglas County will be limited to planning, design and other preparatory work. Under the agreement, the Georgia 400 and Douglas Boulevard projects will not be built unless the FHWA and the EPA review and concur on a state transportation plan and TIP that conform with the federal air quality standards. The agencies also agreed that the ARC must approve the design and all right of way actions for the Georgia 400 project before it is advanced.
The agreement allows projects at Old Alabama Highway in Fulton County, Bankhead Highway in Douglas County and Jonesboro Road in Henry County to proceed as proposed by the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The FHWA declined to act on another project, Jones Bridge Road in Fulton County, after the ARC removed it from its proposed TIP.
In an additional step, Georgia DOT and the ARC also have agreed to prepare and submit a conforming transportation plan within the next 18 months demonstrating exactly how federal air quality standards will be achieved in the Atlanta region.
Slater also pledged to work with the EPA on new steps to help Atlanta address its air quality problems, such as tightening the links between transportation and air quality oversight programs; conducting additional research on the relationship between land use, transportation and air quality; and dispatching national experts to help regional decision makers develop transportation and air quality plans that will satisfy federal standards.