THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 22, 1994 TAG: 9412220547
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Federally funded road projects in Hampton Roads could be delayed because a regional group missed a deadline this week for filing a transportation plan that meets EPA clean-air standards.
The Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization was required to submit the plan by Wednesday. But members learned that day that the plan did not meet federal standards.
Dwight Farmer, director of transportation for the group, said missing the deadline could begin to affect the region in about two months.
Transportation officials are unsure what projects might be affected. But Farmer said any new federally funded road projects slated for construction could be delayed.
Regional leaders have asked the state Department of Transportation for a list of the threatened projects.
``The bottom line is, we're in pretty much of a dilemma right now,'' said Frank Dunn, transportation planner for the Transportation Department.
A study presented Wednesday to the Metropolitan Planning Organization found that the group's 2015 Transportation Plan - used to set guidelines for future road projects - would exceed federal clean-air guidelines by 2.4 tons of pollutants per day.
Reducing that figure is ``going to be tough,'' Farmer said. Even if the region were to adopt tough new regulations to cut pollution from automobiles, he said, the region would only be able to cut about a ton of pollutants per day.
After learning that the plan had fallen short, some members of the planning organization on Wednesday asked a consultant to rework it, figuring in light rail and deleting the Southeastern Expressway, a proposal recently rejected by the Chesapeake City Council.
If the commission does not come up with a plan that meets federal standards by May 25, Dunn said, federal action on the region's road projects will stall.
``They wouldn't even be able to approve environmental documents,'' Dunn said.
During the presentation, several commissioners suggested the region consider whether to build all of the roads called for in the transportation plan. There was also talk of reconsidering how land is used in the region and whether growth is hurting the region's air quality more than roads.
``It appears that the model is telling us that the land-use growth is what is causing our failure,'' Dunn said. ``It's not really the fault of the transportation system.''
But even if land-use is the problem, he said, the region must develop a plan that meets the guidelines set by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. by CNB