Politics & Government

411 Battle on Environmental Issues Continues

The public relations firm representing the Coalition for the Right Road says a letter indicates a "significant" development in the fight over of the proposed U.S. 411 Connector.

The Coalition for the Right Road, led by the Rollins family, this week released a letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service it says is a significant development in the battle over Route DV-E of the proposed U.S. 411 Connector, which is now centered on environmental issues.

The development comes months after GDOT said it was and a year following the Federal Highway Administration request for further study.

The letter β€” which is attached to this article along with a letter and accompanying email from Rollins attorney Henry Parkman β€” says "no federal funds may be authorized or federal permits issued until all effects to streams and Cherokee darters are adequately assessed."

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in the letter it notified GDOT and the Federal Highway Administration in 2010 the project could not proceed until the impacts of possible acid runoff that could harm the habitat of the endangered fish are evaluated.

According to Rome News-Tribune, the federal agency is waiting on that analysis and two others β€” the proposed route's effects on previously unstudied wetlands and the proposed wildlife refuge as a result of .

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Despite indications the Rollins family is working to re-open the federal government's Record of Decision issued in 2009, the newspaper reported GDOT is moving forward with the project.

On the table for more than 30 years, the U.S. 411 Connector, a proposed four-lane highway, would connect U.S. 411 at the U.S. 41 interchange with Interstate 75 near its intersection with GA 20.

The highway would go through Dobbins Mountain on the Rollins' Cartersville Ranch LLC. In a 1993 federal lawsuit, the Rollins were successful in sending GDOT back to the drawing board to complete further analyses. The result was Route D-VE.


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