U.S. EPA Highlights Problems with Juneau Road Project’s Draft Permit; Federal agency latest in a string of officials questioning the proposed project

Anchorage, AK - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator in Seattle issued a letter on May 21, 2008 raising serious questions about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' rationale behind its draft permit for the Juneau Road and Ferry project. Among EPA's chief concerns are the Corps' failure to evaluate a less environmentally damaging alternative than those proposed by the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Corps' lack of clear criteria for selecting the project's route. In its letter, EPA says the Corps' analysis "tends to emphasize favorable facts that support the draft conclusion and overlook[s] unfavorable facts that may lead to a different conclusion."

"The Corps seems to have taken a page out of Alaska DOT's playbook when it comes to choosing which facts to consider," said Lois Epstein of the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project. "When a rigorous analysis is performed, the Juneau Road project will not pass the red face test."

In a March 12, 2008 column in the Juneau Empire, State Senator Kim Elton (D-Juneau) questioned DOT's credibility after the department presented statistics to the Senate Transportation Committee comparing the cost to the state of the Juneau Road project, which would parallel an existing ferry route, to the cost to the state of the entire Alaska ferry system. He listed a number of statistics used by DOT that misrepresented reality, calling one DOT statistic "at best, a meaningless figure and at worst purposefully misleading."

"EPA's letter reinforces concerns with this project that legislators, at least one former transportation commissioner, and citizens have expressed for years," said Epstein. "And Governor Palin expressed the need for a more accurate project cost estimate in a May 9 Juneau Empire story."

EPA's letter is the latest in a series of official pronouncements on the Juneau Road project and how it has been evaluated. Earlier this month in a widely-disseminated email and in the May 9 Empire story, Governor Palin stated that the project is not a priority for her administration, and she questioned the project's ability to withstand legal challenges.

In a March 11, 2008 letter to DOT Commissioner Leo von Scheben, Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein outlined a series of concerns about the project including inadequate cost estimates by DOT, the use of money designated for ferries and other state transportation projects, and the department's inconsistent standards for evaluating and assessing costs of the Juneau Road project compared to how it evaluates other state projects. "It has been evident to me for some time that the Southeast Region of DOT has an emotional commitment to the Juneau Access project, and has been driving the project forward through the use of what appears to be inaccurate, incomplete, and/or misleading information," said Weinstein.

In March, five Republican and one Democratic House members asked the House Finance Committee Co-Chairs to "reappropriate the money left in the Juneau Access Road…to the Alaska Marine Highway [System] Fund."

The recent doubts and criticism from officials about the Juneau Road project echo sentiments expressed by voters throughout the state. According to a November 2007 statewide poll, Alaskans prefer by a 79% to 11% margin that the state spend money on local transportation repairs, maintenance, and upgrades rather than on the Juneau Road project. The poll, conducted by Anne Hays Research (www.haysresearch.com), is available at www.aktransportation.org/press-releases/november-19th-2007.

More information:

Download: EPA's letter to Department of the Army 5/21/08

Copies of Mayor Weinstein's and the legislators' letters and the referenced article available upon request.

Download: Press Release May 28th, 2008 (MS Word Doc, 197k)