December 28, 2007

Ready to act

Letters to the Editor
The Alpine Avalanche
Copyright 2008

Dear Residents of the Big Bend:

The Rio Grande Council of Governments has generally been supportive of measures to designed to protect the Big Bend region, but they have yet to take a stand against La Entrada.


We can not afford to wait. Furthermore, we should not shirk the responsibility (or pass up the possibility) to organize a commission that directly represents the wishes of the citizens of this region.

Establishing a Sub-Regional Planning Commission is about representing what the residents of the Big Bend know is best for this area.

The COG (Council of Governments) has been beneficial to us in the past, and our county commissioners and judges have put forth their best efforts to represent and protect us. However, this is a huge area, and the COG must divide its attention between the many voices of our small towns and the enormous demands of El Paso.

Who can blame them for not having become more involved with La Entrada, and what kind of citizens would we be if we did not show our support for our councilors by stepping up to the plate?

By "stepping up to the plate" I mean that we must take responsibility for this area and do our part to help the COG and our various towns by committing to a Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission.

This is our home, and we should do our part while working in close partnership with the COG. This will provide us the most legitimate representation while alleviating some the burden our councilors already deal with on a daily basis.

We are ready to do this, we are prepared to do this, and Statute 391 gives us the ability to do this!

It is time for the stewards, the ranchers, the youths, and all the rest to take the reins and do their part!

I am ready. ReViva [Collective] is ready. The Sierra Club is ready. Alpine City Council is ready.

It is time for us all to stand together under one label - Citizens of the Big Bend - and let the COG and the rest of the world know we are ready to take care of our community.

Jeff Milam

Alpine

© 2008 The Alpine Avalanche: www.alpineavalanche.com

December 4, 2007

Letter urging attendance at City Council and Commissioners Court meetings to voice sentiments about La Entrada

Letters to the Editor
Big Bend Gazzette
Copyright 2008

Editor:

I am writing to inform the community of a few things. First of all, the motion to support the Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission was passed by the Alpine City Council last meeting and this coming meeting, Tuesday the 4th at 6:00PM, they will vote on actually helping form the commission.

It is extremely important that citizens concerned with the La Entrada planning efforts attend this meeting and show support for Alpine joining the commission so that our voices will be heard loud and clear by TxDOT and MOTRAN.

Also, on December 10th the Brewster County Commissioners Court will meet and discuss joining the commission as well. To have Brewster County onboard would greatly increase the jurisdiction of the commission and I would like to encourage everyone to write and call the commissioners as well.

We deserve a say in what happens to our community and the commission will provide us that opportunity. And, for those in the surrounding areas, please show your support to your city council members and county commissioners. The greater our jurisdiction the louder our voice and the more we can protect.


You can find letter writing help on the ReViva website ( www.revivacollective.org) in the La Entrada section of our Forum.

I would also like to take this opportunity to inform everyone that an online No a La Entrada petition has been formed by ReViva Collective. The petition is unofficial and is specifically intended to illustrate the numbers who stand against La Entrada around the world. So, you can sign it even if you have signed a previous petition. As of this moment we have signatures ranging from Texas, to Massachusetts, to France, to South Africa, to Australia, and the numbers are growing! I invite everyone to visit the ReViva website and click on the link that says SIGN! the petition against La Entrada!

For those in the community unfamiliar with the ReViva Collective, we are a group of individuals working for various goals and causes united by a desire to do good for the Big Bend community and beyond. We currently contribute to the campaign against the La Entrada highway coming through Big Bend, are organizing a mural project around Alpine with the help of many local artists, have a biweekly film series showing documentaries on the first and third Fridays of every month at the community center, and host a weekly potluck dinner at the Orale' Way gallery (305 Gallego) every Wednesday night at 7:30 PM for anyone interested in learning about us or getting involved.

From a young man who is concerned about the area he loves, the country that has allowed him the freedom to write this, and the people who have made him who he is, please express your support to city council and your county commissioners. Please sign the petition and do not let economic interests supersede heritage. Please take upon yourself the responsibility of having a voice. Let's help each other help this place.

Thank you,

Jeff Milam

© 2008 Big Bend Gazzette:www.bigbendgazette.com

November 29, 2007

Emergency? Suspend Texas' constitutional rules? For a bill proposing a highway?

Dear Editor,
The Skyline (Alpine, TX)
Copyright 2008

Democracy, Tom Craddick style:

"The importance of this legislation and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted."

This is a verbatim section from HB 2115, the legislation creating La Entrada al Pacifico.

Emergency? Suspend Texas' constitutional rules? For a bill proposing a highway?

It's obvious that La Entrada's backers don't mind playing fast and loose with the rules, from the chilling section above to the wildly inaccurate truck numbers they proposed for TxDOT's use.

Add to that their millions in taxpayer funding and years of lobbying and political back scratching, and the phrase "resistance is futile" can't help but leap to mind.

Last week, however, the Alpine City Council took an important step toward giving our region the power not only to resist La Entrada, but to join together to make sure that the Big Bend doesn't get run over by TxDOT or MOTRAN.

The proposed Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission is an effective way for local towns and counties to have an equal voice with TxDOT, in a context where state and federal statutes require state agencies to work on a government to government basis with regional planning commissions.

Please urge your Big Bend area city council and/or county commissioners to look into and join the Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission. It gives them a way to make sure that local issues, from pollution to property rights, get fair consideration when the state comes calling.

MOTRAN can't take our future unless we let them.

Sincerely,

Peter A. Smyke


Texas citizens have a rare opportunity to restore power and voice back to where it belongs, with We The People.

Dear Editor,

I would personally like to commend Alpine citizens and council members for proposing and supporting the agenda of the Big Bend Regional Planning Commission at last week's city council meeting. Under Chapter 391 of the Local Government. Code, such a commission can be created to focus and represent the concerns of localized governments. The BBRPC would have the power to demand information and cooperation from federal and/or state entities as an official subdivision of the state.

Considering the effects of the proposed La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor (HWY 67/90) on the Big Bend region, there is an urgency to demand that TxDOT and MOTRAN take into strong consideration the concerns of Big Bend residents in future plans. I strongly urge the surrounding counties, cities, schools, and citizens of Big Bend to support this commission, and help create an entity that directly represents our property rights, environmental concerns, tax dollars, and any concerns of the people of the Big Bend.

In a time when the federal and state governments are becoming so far removed from the will of the people they represent, Texas citizens have a rare opportunity to restore power and voice back to where it belongs, with We The People.


I urge all citizens who are concerned about the future of Big Bend in the shadow of La Entrada, to attend city council meetings, talk to their commissioners, and become informed of the issues, so we can work together to preserve the beauty of our home. STOP LA ENTRADA AL PACIFICO!

For more information, visit www.stopthetrucks.org, or www.revivacollective.org.

Molly Walker

© 2008 The Skyline, Sul Ross State University.:www.sulross.edu

October 23, 2007

Group opposing Trans Texas Corridor holds a meeting with TxDOT


NBC KCEN-TV (Waco-Temple Killeen)
Copyright 2007

Some local city leaders sat down with TxDOT Tuesday to get some answers about the proposed Trans Texas Corridor.

The group from Bell County formed the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission, and they spent about three hours voicing their concerns Tuesday. Since there is no definite location for the corridor, there were a lot of unanswered questions.

However, one point was made clear: the commission does not want the corridor built through their towns.

The group is made up of mayors and school board officials from Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy and Rogers who are concerned about the economic impact and size of the corridor.

They fear it will alter their quality of life and TxDOT is unable to address those issues because they said it's too early in the planning stages.

"There [are] a lot of questions that have not been answered. There’s a lot of impact that has not been studied. And they have agreed to come back with us and to keep working forward with us which we have not heard before now," Holland Mayor Mae Smith said.

"We want to try to impact the fewest number of people possible and we want to try to minimize the impacts to people. At the same time, we want to minimize the impact to the natural environment," Director of Corridor Development Edward Pensock said.

The proposed corridor will cost $25 billion.

The commission said it does recognize the congestion problem, and propose the expansion of I-35 opposed to the construction of the corridor.


© 2007 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.kcentv.com
Local Communities Demand Answers Concerning Trans-Texas Corridor

10/23/07

by Sara Talbert
KXXV-TV News (Waco-Temple-Killeen)
Copyright 2007

HOLLAND- Big concerns for many officials at some small Central Texas cities. They demanded answers on Tuesday and about the Trans-Texas Corridor.

TxDOT officials were in Holland to meet with a group of concerned mayors, school board members and citizens who call themselves the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission. The ECTSRPC was formed specifically to fight the TTC.

Three TxDOT officials answered what they could to the group who made it very clear they do not want the Trans-Texas Corridor coming through their towns or even the.

The group expressed their concerns about the economic impact the TTC would have on the farmlands, school districts, development and economies in Holland, Rogers and Little river. But when asked about the economic impact, officials did not have a direct answer, simply saying they don't know just yet.

"They don't have all of the answers that we thought they should at this point before they considered doing this," said Mae Smith, Mayor of Holland.

Currently, the estimated amount of land to be used for the proposed TTC in the Rogers/Holland area is 3500 acres and that includes a lot of farmland.

The next meeting for the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission is set for November 13.

© 2007 WorldNow and KXXV: www.kxxv.com

September 20, 2007

Blackland Coalition meets Saturday

The Cameron Herald
Copyright 2007

Blackland Coalition invites all persons concerned and opposed to the Trans Texas Corridor(s) (I35, I69, etc.) to a meeting on Saturday at Seaton Star Hall (SPJST Lodge 40). Seaton Star Hall is located 5 miles east of Temple on State Highway 53.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. Food and beverages will be available beginning at 6 p.m.

Chris Hammel, president of Blackland Coalition will update the public on the many things that have taken place in the past months and what the future holds. He notes that because of the Blackland Coalition, more and more statewide grassroots organizations have been formed in organized opposition to the Trans Texas Corridor and in making consistent calls for fair hearings and legislative action. The group's opposition has sounded all the way to Oklahoma and beyond, where they have and continue to form active opposition to the TTC and the NAFTA highway system.

Four small cities in Central Texas have formed the “Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission.” Mae Smith, president of this newly formed commission will be a featured speaker at the Blackland Coalition meeting. She will discuss the how and why small cities should form these groups to protect their communities.

The last legislative session did result in some favorable actions to those opposed to the TTC(s). David and Linda Stall of Corridor Watch will outline what good did come out of the session. They will also give an update on the latest information regarding the East Texas TTC 69 project. Those hearings are tentatively scheduled for November and December. Blackland Coalition appreciates the efforts and support that East Texas opposition presented at the TTC 35 DEIS hearings last summer and everyone is asked to consider supporting them at the upcoming hearings in their area.

Indy Texans founder and Blackland Coalition member, Linda Curtis will present a brief update on what that group has been doing to protect Texans and their rights. There is has been a lot of activity within that group and we can be of assistance. It is not required to be an Indy Texan member to do so.

© 2007 The Cameron Herald: www.cameronherald.com

September 8, 2007

TxDOT under fire

By JOANN LIVINGSTON
Waxahachie Daily Light
Copyright 2007

Transportation was a hot subject during the recent legislative session - and it continues to be so in the interim.

This week, several Texas lawmakers, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson and state Reps. Joe Farias, David Leibowitz, Nathan Macias and others held a press conference in San Antonio in protest against current transportation policy and the Texas Department of Transportation.

Key among their concerns are recent reports the state agency has launched a public relations plan to promote the Trans-Texas Corridor and to lobby for toll roads. Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom founder Terri Hall is among those criticizing TxDOT for using tax dollars to promote the TTC and tolling.

During the San Antonio press conference, the group also called for TxDOT to install the original gas tax-funded improvement plan for U.S. Highway 281 and drop plans to convert that roadway into a toll road, with Hall saying citizens on hand called for the “immediate resignations of TxDOT leadership.”

Hall said TxDOT intends to make some interstates into toll corridors, including Interstate 35 between San Antonio and Dallas and Interstate 10 between Houston and San Antonio and also is looking at highways 281, 1604, Bandera Road and others around San Antonio.

“If TxDOT and the politicians who enable them have their way, it won’t stop there,” she said, saying, “TxDOT plans to take every single lane on existing highway U.S. 281 and convert them into toll lanes. The only free lanes will be frontage roads, not highway lanes.”

According to www.keeptexasmoving.com, TxDOT’s Web site relating to toll roads, Texas’ population has increased 57 percent in the past 25 years, with road use up by 95 percent.
That’s a problem, the agency said, when state road capacity grew only 8 percent. TxDOT further notes on its Web site that the state’s population is estimated to increase another 64 percent during the next 25 years, with road use to increase 214 percent.

“Without new funding methods, state road capacity will only grow 6 percent,” the agency says on its Web site.

According to a TURF press release, Adkisson, who sits on the San Antonio Metropolitian Planning Organization, said, “TxDOT should begin (improving its relations with the public) by installing the overpasses and improvements at an estimated cost of $100 million and already paid for by our gas taxes instead building the hugely intrusive $400 million toll plan for U.S. 281 at four times the cost (and double the number of lanes).”

Adkisson said the state’s transportation policy has failed in several areas by not indexing the gas tax and by not accelerating other forms of transportation. Creative solutions such as contraflow should be implemented and Texas should cease being a donor state that gives away more of its gas taxes than is returned, he said, saying the state is bearing the burden of NAFTA-related traffic.

Macias, Farias and Leibowitz discussed their work during the legislative session relating to control over the toll road and TTC issues - and how that work was subsequently altered. All three encouraged voters to seek accountability at the ballot box in the next election so as to affect needed changes.

During the press conference, Macias characterized tolling of an existing highway as the same as double taxation - and questioned TxDOT’s cost escalations for certain projects.

Farias said amendments he tried to put into the two-year private toll moratorium bill, Senate Bill 792, were stripped out, adding that he’s concerned with the economic impact of tolls on economically-disadvantaged constituents.

Leibowitz, who also sits on the San Antonio MPO, said he is calling for that board to pass a resolution against TxDOT’s public relations campaign and said he will ask state Attorney General Greg Abbott for an opinion on the issue.

“I have never voted for a single toll road bill in my time in the Texas House,” said Leibowitz, who also shared his concerns that Texas is paying a disproportionate share of the NAFTA cost.
Hall noted more lawmakers are becoming involved with the transportation issues.

“The citizens support lawmakers’ efforts to put accountability and sanity back into transportation policy,” Hall said. “With U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison introducing a bill to prevent the tolling of existing interstates this week, calls from U.S. Congressman Ciro Rodriguez to investigate the tolling of existing interstates report, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Congressman Charlie Gonzales adamantly opposed to it, the people may get relief on the federal level first.”

Hall said she supports a move back to the gas tax-funded plan for improvements to 281 and a stop to the tolling of other existing highways.

“TxDOT has breached the public trust and it cannot be repaired short of cleaning house at that agency. They’ve repeatedly sworn to our faces they’re not tolling existing roads and then lobbied Congress to do just that,” Hall said.

TURF calls for investigation

In another development this week, TURF has called for Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate the Texas Department of Transportation relating to a public relations campaign it is mounting.

“Unaccountable, eminent domain abusing, runaway toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor,” TURF founder Terri Hall said. “It’s not just smarmy, it’s illegal.”

In a recent press release, TURF criticizes the agency for disregarding input from Texans, including more than 13,000 people who spoke during hearings on the TTC.

“Apparently they lack the intellectual capacity to understand one of the most basic words in the English language (‘no’),” the release reads, with Hall adding, “To add insult to injury, they patronize us further by thinking we just haven’t gotten the message or that we somehow don’t understand their cash-cow, land-grabbing, double-taxing toll road policies, therefore they need to spend our money to further indoctrinate us into submission.”

TURF’s disagrees with TxDOT’s plans to spend up to $9 million on its public relations campaign - which started June 1 - to promote the TTC.

“The politicians who are ramming this down our throats need to realize they can’t escape the long arm of the law, especially Ronnie Earle’s. Tom Delay couldn’t and neither will they,” Hall said.

“The citizens of Texas believe the Texas Department of Transportation is illegally using taxpayer money to wage a cleverly cloaked public relations campaign to push the wildly controversial Trans-Texas Corridor and toll road proliferation,” the complaint reads as filed by TURF, which notes the agency’s public relations campaign includes direct mail, billboards and employee training.

“It’s not only an inappropriate and wasteful use of our gas tax dollars by an agency perpetually claiming it’s out of money for roads, but it’s illegal for a public agency to take a policy position and use the public’s tax money to sell them something using an under-handed PR campaign,” the complaint reads.

TURF’s complaint also notes that a state auditor’s report issued earlier this year found “mismarking” of funds on expenditures relating to the TTC, with some expenditures marked as engineering instead of as an actual expense of public relations.

“Please open an investigation and prosecute this agency for its repeated illegal activities,” the TURF complaint reads. “The people of Texas want justice. When Ken Lay cooked the books at Enron, he was sent to jail. The same needs to happen with those guilty of breaking the law at the highway department.”

Hutchison’s response

In response to the tolling controversy, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, has filed legislation that would prohibit the tolling of existing federal highways across the country.

“My bill will protect drivers from paying tolls on roads that were already paid for by taxpayers,” Hutchison said in a statement about her legislation, S. 2019.

The legislation’s intent is to “prohibit the imposition and collection of tolls on certain highways constructed using federal funds,” by blocking the U.S. Secretary of Transportation from approving tolls on existing federally-funded highways. Under current law, states can apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation to place tolls on existing federal highways.

In a press release from her office, Hutchison said she would “vigorously oppose” any effort by Texas Department of Transportation to toll existing interstate highways through the use of buy backs.

Earlier this year, TxDOT officials said they intended to lobby Congress to allow for the buy back of existing federal highways in Texas for the purpose of tolling. Hutchison’s legislation specifically disallows states to place tolls on any federal highways they buy back from the DOT.

“I will work with members of the Texas Congressional delegation and the state legislature to ensure that Texans are never asked to pay a toll of an existing interstate highway,” said Hutchison, who serves as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which sets the budget for the federal Department of Transportation

In February, TxDOT released its legislative agenda in a report called “Forward Momentum,” which seeks changes in federal law that would allow such buy backs for the purpose of tolling interstate highways, pending approval by local governments.

S. 2019 is similar to a previous effort by Hutchison to block the use of tolls on existing interstate highways as part of the 2005 Highway Bill.

The amendment passed the Senate but was stripped in conference by the House of Representatives.

Cities fight to stop TTC

The cities of Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy and Rogers recently formed the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission to fight the TTC.

“This is one issue all four cities are united behind to save our rural way of life,” said newly elected president Mae Smith, who is mayor of Holland. Other members of the board include Arthur White, mayor of Bartlett; Ronnie White, mayor of Academy; the Rev. Billy Crow, mayor of Rogers; and Ralph Snyder, a business owner from Holland.

“The purpose of this commission is to give us a voice in this process. It’s our land that the Texas Department of Transportation and our governor want to take and we are not going to let them pave us over and ignore the concerns of our communities,” Snyder said.

The commission reports the TTC would take from 5,000 and 7,500 acres in Bell County alone, while taking in another 50,000 acres of farmland between San Antonio and the Texas-Oklahoma border. The Texas Legislature created the TTC in 2003 “and ever since, landowners have been fighting to protect their rights,” according to a press release from the commission.

The commission was formed using Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 391, which allows cities and counties to form regional planning commissions to work together to develop plans for their local region and to force the state agencies to coordinate with their activities.

Under Chapter 391.009(c), TxDOT is required to coordinate with commissions to ensure effective and orderly implementation of state programs at the regional level.

“TxDOT must coordinate with us before they can implement their plans in our region,” said Ronnie White, commission vice president. “The TTC is driven by greed and has no respect for our rural way of life.”

The commission says that under state law, TxDOT will be required to work with it and coordinate the agency’s plans with the local group before any land is taken or any construction begins.

“If not, they are in violation of the state statute and we are prepared to take them to court if necessary,” Smith said.

The individual cities have also requested that the Environmental Protection Agency reject the Draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted by TxDOT, because the agency did not coordinate with local government as required under the federal law.

Waller County rejects proposal

Waller County commissioners announced at a meeting in early August that they had been approached by TxDOT officials and Gary Bushell, a lobbyist for the Alliance for I-69 and the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition, with a plan to route the TTC along the proposed path of the Prairie Parkway, which had been recently discussed as a thoroughfare from Highway 290 between Waller and Prairie View (James Muse Road), to I-10 and Woods Road.

Waller County commissioners rejected the proposal, according to a press release from Citizens for a Better Waller County.

“For folks that think that the Trans-Texas Corridor is not going to happen - this is a major wake up call,” said Don Garrett, president of the citizens group. “Not only does it show that TxDOT and Gov. Perry are going forward with the plans for the TTC-69, but that they still have Waller County dead in their sights for the path of this 1,200-feet wide mobility monster.

“Although there is a two-year moratorium that prevents TxDOT from signing a contract with a private company to build the TTC-69 under Senate Bill 792, that doesn’t mean that they can’t proceed forward with selecting a pathway for it,” he said.

Garrett said he encourages people living in Waller County to stay aware of TxDOT’s plans.

“An express toll road that is a 1/2 of a mile wide going through the dead center of Waller County would devastate it. It will change life as we know it in Waller County for generations to come,” Garrett said. “This move by TxDOT shows that they are still trying to route this thing through the middle of our county, despite the fact that nobody in Waller County wants it here.

“We are not opposed to a rational approach to solving our future transportation needs, but are adamantly opposed to a system that primarily benefits Wall Street and foreign investors,” he said, saying the organization has confirmed TxDOT representatives have met with Fort Bend County officials in regard to routing TTC-69 through Fort Bend County toward Waller County.

According to information from the organization, Prairie Parkway has been on the county’s thoroughfare plan since 1985 and has been updated because of development to Houston Executive Airport and expansion plans for I-10 and Highway 290. The route also will provide additional hurricane evacuation capabilities for coastal residents.

“TxDOT saw an opportunity with the proposed Prairie Parkway to piggyback the TTC on top of it. It’s now up to the citizens of Waller County to let TxDOT know what they think about that,” Garrett said.

A final route for TTC-69 is pending release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and additional hearings.

“It is more important now than ever that people pay attention to what is going on around here,” Garrett said. “The TTC is alive and well and TxDOT is hoping that folks are asleep at the wheel when they show up with bulldozers.”

© 2007 The Waxahachie Daily Light www.waxahachiedailylight.com

September 3, 2007

Texas Coordination

Stewards of the Range
Copyright 2007

Texans have finally found a way to fight the Trans-Texas Corridor by forcing the agencies to comply with the coordination requirement found in state and federal law.

Using a two track approach, the cities of Holland, Bartlett, Little River-Academy, and Rogers, all within Central Texas and within the path of the quarter mile wide superhighway, have implemented a course of action that requires the Texas Department of Transportation to coordinate all studies, plans and management activities on the Trans-Texas Corridor with the cities. Link to Copy of Press Release, 08-24-07

State Strategy: Requiring the Texas Department of Transportation to Coordinate with Local Government under Texas State Law

Following the clear guidelines found in Chapter 391 of the Texas Local Government Code, the cities formed a regional planning commission, now named the "Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission." By doing this, the state agencies are now required to coordinate their plans for several issues including the Trans-Texas Corridor, which the Commission specifically identified in their organizing documents.

Federal Strategy: Requesting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reject the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the TTC 1-35.

The second course of action the cities have taken, is requesting that the Corridor DEIS, now pending approval by the Environmental Protection Agency, be rejected because the Transportation Department who conducted the study did not coordinate with their cities as required under the National Environmental Protection Act (42 USC 4321), and as a result submitted a grossly insufficient DEIS.

NEPA requires that the agency coordinate the study with the local governments impacted, however, the agency refused to do so, and relegated the cities opposition to the commenting process. In so doing, they violated the law when they conducted the study. The cities have requested that EPA reject the DEIS and require the process to begin again, this time coordinating with every city, school district, water district and county that makes this request.

The letter to the EPA was sent by each individual city, since the federal law does not require a commission to be formed, but instead calls for the agency to coordinate with each local unit of government affected, which includes not only cities and counties, but also school districts and water districts. Several school districts and water districts in the area are now also considering taking the same action.

Any county, city, school district or water district that will be impacted by the Trans-Texas Corridor can make the same request of the EPA using the documents submitted by the four originating cities, found at the bottom of this page. The more local units of government the Transportation Department is required to coordinate with, the more accurate the information gathered will be, and the true impact of the superhighway can be evaluated as required by NEPA. Also, the more entities that must be coordinated with, the more time it will take for the Transportation Department to complete a proper study.

To learn more on how to form a Texas Regional Planning Commission in your area, or to request the EPA reject the DEIS on the Corridor, call:

American Land Foundation: (512) 365-2699
or
Stewards of the Range: (512) 365-8038

IMPORTANT LINKS
State Strategy

Letters to TX Department of Transportation:

Federal Strategy

Letters to EPA:

© 2007 Stewards of the Range: www.stewards.us

August 28, 2007

Four cities oppose corridor

by Clay Coppedge
Temple Daily Telegram
Copyright 2007

HOLLAND - Four cities in one of the proposed routes for the Trans-Texas Corridor have banded together to fight the corridor.

The cities of Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy and Rogers have formed the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission.

Holland mayor Mae Smith is president of the commission. Other board members include mayors Arthur White of Bartlett, Ronnie White of Little River-Academy and Billy Crow of Rogers along with Holland business owner Ralph Snyder.

“If the Trans-Texas Corridor goes through as planned, it will make a ghost town of Holland,” Ms. Smith said Monday. “The people who live here work out of here. If they have to drive an extra 50 miles to get in and out of town they will move.”

She also cited infrastructure issues, including water and utilities that will increase in cost if the corridor goes through.

Gov. Rick Perry announced the concept of the Trans-Texas Corridor in 2002 as a series of six-lane highways with separate lanes for cars and commercial trucks, high-speed rail lines and utility corridors. The corridors could be as wide as 1,200 feet.

TTC-35, the first phase of the project, would run about 600 miles from Gainesville to Laredo, roughly parallel to Interstate 35. Construction would be phased in gradually over 50 years with the most congested areas getting the first segments.

An international consortium, Cintra-Zachry, would build the road, set the toll rates and operate concessions along the corridors.

The proposal has drawn widespread opposition from cities and landowners along its proposed route.

The area commission was formed to enforce the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 391, which allows cities and counties to form regional planning commissions to work together to develop plans for their local region and to force state agencies to coordinate with their activities.

“TxDOT must coordinate with us before they can implement their plans in our region,” White said. “The TTC is driven by greed and has no respect for our rural way of life.”

“By law, the state must meet with us before they implement any of these plans,” Ms. Smith said. “… We may not stop it but we’re going to make sure they at least follow the law before they do this to us.”

© 2007 Temple Daily Telegram: www.temple-telegram.com

August 24, 2007

Four Cities Form Commission to Stop the Trans-Texas Corridor

Contact: Mae Smith, President 254-657-2460

Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC)
Copyright 2007

In an unprecedented move, the four cities of Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy, and Rogers formed the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC) on Wednesday to fight the Trans-Texas Corridor.

“This is one issue all four cities are united behind to save our rural way of life,” stated the newly elected president Mae Smith, Mayor of Holland, Texas. Other members of the board include Arthur White, Mayor of Bartlett; Ronnie White, Mayor of Academy; Rev. Billy Crow, Mayor of Rogers; and Ralph Snyder, business owner from Holland.

“The purpose of this Commission is to give us a voice in this process. It’s our land that the Texas Department of Transportation and our Governor want to take and we are not going to let them pave us over and ignore the concerns of our communities,” stated Snyder.

The Trans-Texas Corridor will confiscate between 5,000 and 7,500 acres in Bell County alone, while destroying another 50,000 acres of farmland between San Antonio and the Texas- Oklahoma border. The Texas Legislature created the TTC in 2003, and ever since landowners have been fighting to protect their rights.

The commission was formed using the Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 391, which allows cities and counties to form regional planning commissions to work together to develop plans for their local region and to force the state agencies to coordinate with their activities.

Under Chapter 391.009(c), TxDoT is required to coordinate with commissions to ensure effective and orderly implementation of state programs at the regional level. “TxDoT must coordinate with us before they can implement their plans in our region,” said Ronnie White, treasurer of the newly formed commission. “The TTC is driven by greed and has no respect for our rural way of life,” White continued.

Under state law, TxDoT will be required to work with the ECTSRPC and coordinate their plans with the local group before any land is taken or any construction begins. “If not, they are in violation of the state statute and we are prepared to take them to court if necessary,” explained Smith.

The individual cities have also requested that the Environmental Protection Agency reject the Draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted by TxDoT, because the agency did not coordinate with local government as required under the federal law.

To learn more on how to form a Texas Regional Planning Commission in your area, or to request the EPA reject the DEIS on the Corridor, call:

American Land Foundation: (512) 365-2699
or
Stewards of the Range: (512) 365-8038

IMPORTANT LINKS
State Strategy

Letters to TX Department of Transportation:

Federal Strategy

Letters to EPA:

© 2007 Stewards of the Range: www.stewards.us