Following the ICC's designation by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a "priority project" for "environmental streamlining" in February 2003, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich officially launched the ICC Study on June 11. The Montgomery Gazette reported that "Ehrlich, who recently spent a day at Camp David with the President, credits his close relationship with the Bush Administration for focusing the attention of federal officials on this project" ("ICC Approved for Fast Track," Montgomery Gazette, Feb. 28, 2003).

Before the ICC was chosen from a list of candidate projects to be streamlined, Eyes of Paint Branch and several other organizations sent a detailed joint letter to Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta pointing out that streamlining was not intended for controversial projects and that the ICC failed to meet numerous criteria for streamlining as set out by the Department of Transportation. We added that "less damaging, less expensive alternatives exist and enjoy substantial public and official support." Other groups signing the letter included the Audubon Naturalist Society, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Coalition for Smarter Growth.