Ohio Chapter

NEWS RELEASE

Report released by the Environmental Law & Policy Center reveals that the Ohio Department of Transportation subverts the law and damages the Heartland’s environment and communities.

COLUMBUS – It is called “the heart of it all.” And for good reason. Take a walk through its rustic countryside, vibrant cities and charming small towns, and you understand. Ohio is the heart of everything that embodies America.

But the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is compromising the character and integrity of Ohio by circumventing the letter and spirit of the environmental review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). By artificially “segmenting” major corridor-wide road projects into smaller pieces, ODOT has been and is consistently avoiding both full consideration of the environmental impacts, and evaluation of reasonable alternatives to building new roads. ODOT’s decisions threaten the state’s dense woodlands, sparkling waters and rolling hills with urban sprawl and the loss of natural forests and farmland.

“ODOT’s narrow focus on short segments of larger projects hurts both the taxpayer’s wallet and the environment,” said John Moore, staff attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and principal author of a new report – Breaking the Heart of It All: How ODOT Subverts the NEPA Environmental Review Process and Damages Ohio’s Environment and Communities. “Short-term planning decisions, which typically result in constructing more pavement, give short shrift to regional passenger rail and other alternatives.”

The report, which includes case studies on U.S. Routes 24, 30 and 33, I-71, State Routes 161/37/16 and a recommendation for the $900 million I-75 upgrade, explains how ODOT’s segmentation reduces the significance of environmental impacts of each project, thereby artificially diminishing the need to comprehensively evaluate alternatives and impacts. This piecemeal road-planning process means that ODOT never gets the “big picture” consequences of expanding new highways. In addition, ODOT fails to seize crucial opportunities for passenger rail and other transit alternatives. Lane widenings become the default choice, resulting in more sprawl, further environmental destruction, not to mention more ubiquitous orange barrels that represent the constant headaches of road construction.

"Full environmental review is essential to addressing the primary and secondary impacts that highways will have on Ohio's farmland, forests, and wetlands," said Shannon Harps, Conservation Program Coordinator for the Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club. "ODOT is required to evaluate a wide range of alternatives including passenger rail and other mass transit options, which help to improve air quality and promote sustainable development patterns.”

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