The Eyes of Paint Branch - Spring 2003
Newsletter
Volume: 9 Issue: 1
The President's Corner
The Inter-County Connector is front and center in the news, and the heart and soul of the Paint Branch watershed is in the crosshairs. Due to an unprecedented flood of money from the development industry, the last election produced a pro-ICC majority on the Montgomery County Council, the reelection of a pro-ICC Montgomery County Executive, and a pro-ICC Maryland Governor, all of whom campaigned explicitly on building the ICC. Already, they are moving forward with their agenda. The County Council passed a resolution in favor of the ICC on the opening day of this session. The County Executive and Governor both lobbied the Department of Transportation, urging them to designate the ICC as one of President Bush’s fast-track review transportation projects--and they were successful.
This issue of My Backyard reports the latest ICC-related developments, including the meaning and significance of the fast-track decision. Our position remains unchanged: we adamantly reject the ICC as a solution to the region’s traffic congestion. Studies have shown the ICC would not relieve traffic congestion, would waste in the neighborhood of $1.5 Billion, and would wreak havoc on the watersheds and neighborhoods it violates as the cars and trucks it would carry traverse the county. There are better options that deserve to be studied, including a Balanced Land Use (BLU) alternative, which is described elsewhere in this issue.
At times it seems the momentum toward building the ICC is unstoppable. I urge you not to get swept up into the illusion of inevitability. The ICC has failed on the merits over and over and over again, and little has changed concerning the substance of the debate. Will the political pressure to build overcome federal and state laws and environmental regulations? It shouldn’t and it doesn’t have to. But the pro-development forces have enormous financial resources and are more determined than ever. We must work hard to level the playing field and foster an environment that will allow the decision to be based on the facts, not on the money of powerful special interests. We must let our own elected officials know our opposition is strong, determined, and growing. The threat is serious, but the argument is there for the winning. Stay tuned. Far better--get involved--it matters now more than ever.
Robert Ferraro,
EOPB President