ACTION ALERT!

 American Rivers finds Mattawoman among the

ten most endangered rivers in the nation!

 American Rivers joins the call for Maryland officials to deny permits for the Cross County Connector extension, which would push Mattawoman over the brink with induced growth.

Please email Shari Wilson, Secretary of MD Dpt of the Environment!

Click here to send an email asking Secretary Wilson to deny wetland destruction permits for this ill-conceived highway.

The message:  Please deny permits for the proposed Cross County Connector extension in Charles County.  Mattawoman Creek is the healthiest fish nursery in the Chesapeake Bay, but it is threatened by highway-dependent sprawl development.  This highway would push Mattawoman over the brink to irreversible degradation with induced development.  This highway is a remnant of the failed car-dependent growth policies of the past. There is a smart growth alternative: a light rail link to Waldorf.

For more information see:

 www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/press-releases/2009/nationalmer-press.html

Chesapeake Bay Foundation: The Issue

Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County: Mattawoman Creek

and the "Briefing Sheet" and "Satellite Map" buttons on the left margin. 

NEWS UPDATE

on Charles County’s proposal to extend its Cross County Connector across the Mattawoman watershed.

This four lane highway and its induced growth would irreparably harm Mattawoman Creek, its forests and wetlands, and our quality of life.

   As a result of the overwhelming concerns raised by government agencies, organizations, and citizens during the July 31^st hearing and the subsequent comment period that closed on Sept. 15, the Army Corps of Engineers in mid-November asked Charles County for extensive additional information on the impacts of the proposed highway.

   You can download a summary of the comments in a press release issued by the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County by clicking here. (Or you can download the full nine-pages of Corps’ comments here.) The Corps essentially outlined the topics of an Environmental Impact Statement in a nine page letter, but unfortunately stopped short of requiring one.

   On December 22, the county replied to the Corps to request an additional 90 days to address the many issues. Read about it here. Given the extent of the information requested by the Corps, it is difficult to see how the county could provide comprehensive answers within this time period that address the Corps’ concerns on highway alignment, growth inducing impacts, present and future impervious surface, and more, as well as carry out studies on noise pollution and traffic.

   A separate wetland permit for the proposed highway is also required from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). At the end of November, MDE prompted the county to allow the state six additional months to review the large number of serious concerns raised by the comments.

   On January 21, MDE wrote a six-page letter to Charles County concurring with the issues raised by Army Corps. They emphasized the confused purpose and need of the highway; stormwater problems from development; the undesirable effects of losing to development our forests (nature’s water filter); and the absence of mitigation proposals. The letter also highlighted the need for the county to address alternatives to the highway, and its indirect and cumulative impacts.

   The letter went on to discuss a state-endangered wildflower, the Potato Dandelion, that is near the highway and requires a survey. (This wildflower should not be confused with the common non-native lawn weed. The Potato Dandelion is “critically imperiled” in Maryland and is a native of our open woods).

   Finally, MDE pointed out that the proposed route of the highway could impact a very high-quality Mattawoman tributary, Old Woman’s Run. This tributary is designated a “Tier II” stream by MDE meaning, in principle that the state may not allow its degradation. With only one in ten stream miles rated in good condition in Maryland, it is vitally important to protect what remains.

Many mainstream groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, 1000 Friends of Maryland, Maryland Bass Federation Nation, and more are joining to convince the Governor that Smart Growth does not entail new highways that promote massive new sprawl development and new edge cities.  The state has the authority and responsibility to deny wetland permits for projects that are destructive to Maryland ’s aquatic resources. The extended Cross County Connector would push Mattawoman over the brink by destroying 7.5 acres of wetlands, more acres of wetland buffer, by enabling massive new growth that causes forest loss and impervious cover—well know to cause erosive flows, mud, and excess nutrients in our waterways.   

If the state does not deny the wetland permits, the Governor still has the power and responsibility to require that an Environmental Impact Statement be conducted, as is common for such a large highway project. In this way officials and the public can learn the true impacts and assess alternatives that must be considered in the EIS.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

A Major Test for the EPA in a Scenic Creek (This is a very important article; please comment)

The Dandelion That Stopped a Highway Project?

New State Document Says Highway Will "Certainly" Hurt Treasured Creek