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Residents urge DOTD to drop E114, cite old‑growth cypress and demand full NEPA documentation
Summary
Multiple public commenters told the Capital Area Road and Bridge District they oppose alternative E114, saying it would clear old‑growth cypress and harm species; commenters urged that the Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) not be incorporated by reference until written submissions and agency reports are publicly posted and asked that an Environmental Impact Statement be considered.
Residents and conservation advocates urged the Capital Area Road and Bridge District and DOTD to reconsider alternative E114 for the MRB South project and to ensure full public access to supporting documents before NEPA proceeds.
Cliff Como, a member of the public, said the land at Plaquemines Point contains old‑growth forest and cited a national assessment: "less than 1% of all historic old growth forest remains in the eastern United States," he said, arguing E114 would affect part of that remnant. Another commenter said E114 would traverse about 3.5 miles at Plaquemines Point, create a roughly 600‑foot‑wide corridor and clear approximately 150 acres of wooded land, and that the corridor intersects habitat for at least a dozen species designated as state greatest conservation need.
Harvey Stern, of the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy, pressed that many written submissions, reports and agency letters are not readily available on the commission's website and said such documentation must be publicly posted to preserve NEPA credibility. "For NEPA to go forward with any credibility, ... those need to be on the on your commission website," Stern said. He and other commenters asked that the PEL not be simply incorporated by reference into NEPA unless the public record explicitly includes submitted documents, technical reports and agency correspondence.
DOTD and Atlas staff replied that comments and submissions received will be included in NEPA‑phase documentation and that finalized technical reports and the project's comment compilation will be posted to the project website (mrbsouth.com). "Everything we have received since then will absolutely be incorporated in some form or fashion into our NEPA documentation," Atlas project manager Kara Maury said. Secretary Donahue reiterated that FHWA (the federal agency) determines whether an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement is required and that the NEPA review will consider submitted information.
Next procedural step: staff said NEPA public meetings and a formal comment period will occur as part of the NEPA schedule; commentators and staff agreed there will be multiple opportunities for written and oral comment during the NEPA process.
