The companies had previously submitted conceptual designs in which they show how they would meet the agency's criteria as described in VDOT's request-for-proposals issued earlier this year.  However, those designs will not be available to the public until sometime in June, when the contract will likely be awarded.

The bid prices opened today do not include costs for landscaping or for remaining right-of-way acquisition, the latter being a significant part of the project's total cost, which VDOT has estimated at almost $250 million. Additionally, potential change orders could drive costs higher.

The following is a statement from Trip Pollard, director of SELC's Land & Community Program

"Like the rest of Virginia taxpayers, I have no idea at this point whether these are reasonable bids or not because we haven't been shown what we're buying. It's like getting a bill for a car that's draped in a giant tarp - you can see the general outline, you know it's a car, but you don't know what features it has so you have no way to judge if the price is right.

"One thing we do know is that there are still better, less expensive ways to keep traffic moving throughout the 29 corridor that VDOT ought to be advancing instead of this bypass."

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 50 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.

WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
FACEBOOK: www.Facebook.com/SouthernEnvironment
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/selc_org

The court also chastised the transportation agencies for falsely denying to the public and other permitting agencies that they had essentially compared "building the road" with "building the road." 

"This is a wake-up call for NCDOT and transportation agencies around the country that the only legal way to assess environmental impacts of building major highways is to factor in resulting sprawl development on the landscape," said David Farren, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. He said this is one of a only a few federal appellate rulings dealing with the fundamental precept that DOTs fully consider these secondary and cumulative impacts of building major highways when conducting environmental impact studies under the National Environmental Policy Act.

SELC represented Clean Air Carolina, North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and Yadkin Riverkeeper in challenging the agencies' approval of the controversial Monroe Bypass, a $700 million, four-lane highway on the suburban-rural fringe of metro Charlotte, one of the nation's fastest growing metro areas.

The groups said the NCDOT and FHWA turned logic on its head by assuming the bypass already existed when they analyzed a "no build" option. This fundamental flaw skewed the examination of cheaper and less damaging alternatives, and prevented a valid comparison of potential environmental impacts. Using faulty assumptions and flawed methodology, the transportation agencies claimed the Monroe Bypass would only make a one percent difference in the level of growth in the region.  When the conservation groups pointed out this flaw, NCDOT denied it - a falsehood that was conceded only when confronted in court.

In a 16-page ruling (pdf), the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the flawed environmental impact statement, calling into question the validity of multiple permits that have been issued for the project. "The record here is devoid of any evidence establishing that the region is developmentally saturated such that a major toll road will no have no appreciable environmental impact," the court wrote. "Here the Agencies not only failed to disclose the assumptions underlying [their data], but provided the public with erroneous information."

The highly controversial Monroe Bypass would include no less than nine interchanges in 20 miles, on average one every two miles. The highway and ensuing development would pose a threat to water quality in the Yadkin River watershed, which provides drinking water for people and habitat for several rare aquatic species, and would increase vehicle-exhaust pollution in metro Charlotte, which just last week received an "F" for ozone pollution in the American Lung Association's State of the Air Report. The existing parallel U.S. 74 corridor is highly congested, but DOT ignored its own study suggesting that all but one of the intersections could be improved for a cost of only $15 million.

"Residents of the Charlotte region can breathe a little easier now that the 4th Circuit has put the brakes on the Monroe Bypass," said June Blotnick, executive director of Clean Air Carolina. "This decision comes during EPA's Air Quality Awareness Week as we call attention to the causes of air pollution like major highway projects. Clean Air Carolina looks forward to a new environmental impact statement that shows the true cost this highway will have on our region's air, water and wildlife."

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 50 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.

WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
FACEBOOK: www.Facebook.com/SouthernEnvironment
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/selc_org

The Southern Environmental Law Center, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club supported eight of Dominion's proposed programs aimed at reducing energy use and costs for Virginia families and businesses. They opposed a program that would allow commercial customers to count use of back-up generators as an efficiency measure.  The office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli did the opposite, and asked the commission to support the back-up generator idea and reject the homeowner and business energy savings programs.

The commission denied much of the Attorney General's request, and approved six of the eight energy-efficiency programs aimed at residential and commercial customers. The most notable new program is the residential bundle that begins with a home energy audit program and includes  options for duct testing and sealing, heat pump tune ups, and heat pump upgrades.  The commission also approved the back-up generator program, but refused to classify it as "efficiency."  Instead, it will be treated as a "peak-shaving" program under a different section of Virginia law. 

The environmental groups were encouraged by the ruling, but noted that many more energy efficiency opportunities remain.  The energy efficiency programs were evaluated for cost-effectiveness under a law approved by the General Assembly in 2009.   The law was reformed in March as part of Governor McDonnell's energy package, and did not apply to this proceeding.

"These new programs provide Dominion's business and residential customers with some great opportunities to save money," said Cale Jaffe, SELC senior attorney. "But we really look forward to the next round of Dominion's programs under the new law, which encourages greater investments in efficiency."

"Even with these new programs, Virginia remains far short of meeting the General Assembly's goal of ten percent energy savings by 2022," said Jill Tauber, SELC staff attorney.  "Dominion is making progress towards the savings goal, but more work needs to be done so that Virginia ratepayers can reap the benefits of the cheapest, cleanest, and most reliable energy resource - energy efficiency."

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 50 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
FACEBOOK: http://www.fanofselc.org
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/selc_org

"ALDOT's so-called re-evaluation is more of a meaningless re-hash of information and does not meet legal requirements to fully assess the impacts this massive highway would have," said Gil Rogers, SELC senior attorney. "For this study, ALDOT overlooked huge changes in the environment and the economic landscape, including whether this project makes sense in light of its escalating costs and the Jefferson County bankruptcy." 

Rogers said that other important changes, like the completion of I-22 and the project's impacts on endangered species and critical habitat are similarly ignored. 

"In filing our lawsuit last year, we called on ALDOT to take a meaningful look at the Northern Beltline's direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on the environment, including the region's water resources," said Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke.  "ALDOT's re-evaluation merely props up the agency's first faulty study and fails to consider Jefferson County's significant and failing sewer infrastructure, which cannot handle any additional loading at this time."

The Northern Beltline remains one of the central controversies in the state. Despite the pending lawsuit and an Army Corps of Engineers permit that must be obtained, ALDOT continues to insist that it will break ground on the Northern Beltline by year's end.  The cost of the 52-mile highway ballooned last year to $4.7 billion, making it what would be one of the most expensive highways in history. In a surprise move last month, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (CO) made the highway an election year example of wasteful government spending, labeling it an unnecessary pork project.

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Black Warrior Riverkeeper (www.blackwarriorriver.org) is a citizen-based nonprofit environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. A member of Waterkeeper Alliance, Black Warrior Riverkeeper was the Alabama Environmental Council's 2007 Conservation Organization of the Year and the American Canoe Association's 2008 Green Paddle Award winner. Nelson Brooke, Riverkeeper, won the Alabama Rivers Alliance's 2010 River Hero Award.

WEB: www.blackwarrorriver.org
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/BlackWarriorRiverkeeper
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/#!/BWRiverkeeper

The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 50 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.

WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
FACEBOOK: http://www.fanofselc.org
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/selc_org

The BLM announced its intention last month to sell oil and gas leases for federal lands in several southeastern states, including parcels totaling over 43,000 acres in Alabama's national forests.  Almost all parcels are located on the Talladega National Forest in central and east Alabama, and one parcel is on the Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama.

In the letter of protest (pdf), the Southern Environmental Law Center, representing Wild South and Natural Resources Defense Council, said the BLM is relying on outdated environmental analyses done by the U.S. Forest Service in 2004 as part of the revised management plan for Alabama's national forests. Among other deficiencies, these stale analyses fail to assess the environmental impacts of drilling using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, known as "fracking."

This form of gas drilling, in which millions of gallons of water and chemicals are injected underground to fracture shale and release natural gas, has caused significant and widespread environmental problems in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere. Exempt from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, fracking has been linked to environmental and public health risks, such as contamination of streams and drinking water wells.  This type of gas drilling has a large footprint, so drilling operations could significantly fragment wildlife habitat in the national forest and contribute to the industrialization of nearby rural land.  The groups are asking the BLM to remove the Alabama national forests from its proposed lease sale, which also includes other states.

"The Bureau of Land Management is proposing a massive intrusion into Alabama's national forests without properly analyzing the potential impacts and without providing sufficient information to the public.  Some of the areas they propose leasing for oil and gas development are near some of the most popular destinations in the forests," said Keith Johnston, managing attorney for the Birmingham office of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

"We have a strong sense of place in the South, and our public forests should not be sold to the highest bidder to be destroyed for short-term profit," said Tracy Davids, director of Wild South.  "These are the places that families hunt, fish, hike and recreate.  Oil and gas drilling will ruin these lands and force us off of our national forests.  This is an assault on our heritage and we won't stand for it."

"This is an illegal giveaway to the oil and gas industry, and it must be stopped. The BLM is turning a blind eye to the very real risks of damaging our forests and harming the health of everyone who lives nearby," said Matthew McFeeley, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.  "More than ten percent of the Talladega National Forest is being put on the auction block without giving the public any chance to weigh in."

The Talladega National Forest is a source of clean drinking water for numerous communities, including Anniston and Jacksonville, AL.  In 2009, the Forest Service estimated about 600,000 visits a year to the forest by hikers, hunters, anglers, horseback riders and others who seek out the forest's exceptional recreational opportunities. Some areas proposed for leasing contain or are near important environmental resources such as the popular Pinhoti National Recreation Trail, the Chinnabee Silent Trail, Talladega Scenic Drive, Cheaha Mountain and Rebecca Mountain, and waterways including Choccolocco, Cheaha and Shoal creeks, as well as other tributaries to the Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Cahaba rivers.  And, based on the little environmental information available on the proposed lease areas, many are habitat for endangered, threatened or at-risk fish and wildlife, such as the Red-cockaded woodpecker and several fish and mussel species, which the BLM and Forest Service are responsible for protecting.

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional conservation organization using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.

WEB: www.SouthernEnvironment.org
FACEBOOK: www.Facebook.com/SouthernEnvironment
TWITTER:  www.twitter.com/selc_org