Stormwater Partners Urges Legislators to Fully Consider Impacts of Stormwater in Beltway & 270 Expansion Planning
On the Beltway in the rain. Photo credit WTOP.
Today, 16 organizational and 8 individual members of the Stormwater Partners Network sent a letter to the Montgomery and Prince George’s County state legislative delegations, County Councilmembers, and County Executives urging them to fully consider the impacts of increased pavement on stormwater runoff in a potential widening of I-495 & I-270. Specifically, we ask them to support (with some modifications) two bills before the General Assembly this session: HB695/SB788, the Transportation Climate Accountability Act, and HB91, Public-Private Partnerships — Presolicitation Reports — Environmental Impact Statement Requirement. Both these bills are necessary because Governor Hogan and the State Highway Administration is currently pushing ahead with planning for new transportation options along the Beltway and 270 and narrowing options before the full Environmental Impact Study is complete. Without knowing the full potential impacts of each option, including transit-only or transit-mainly options, we can’t know which is truly the best option.