A statewide nonprofit environmental organization filed an appeal to Pennsylvania's Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) last week in an ongoing effort to keep the Interstate 99 highway project from being built on Bald Eagle Mountain.
Citizen's for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) filed the appeal after the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved permits allowing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to build on the ridge, said George Jugovic, a senior attorney for PennFuture.
PennDOT submitted the Water Obstructions and Encroachments permit application in April. It allows the contractor to fill about 11 acres of wetlands, to enclose, bridge or fill 17,640 linear feet of stream, and to place 278,750 cubic yards of fill within the floodway of North Bald Eagle Creek, according to PennFuture.
PennFuture is working with Trout Unlimited, a national organization for water conservation and river and fishery protection.
The two groups are representing a number of other organizations, including the Bald Eagle Ridge Protection Association (BERPA), the National Audubon Society, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, the Pennsylvania Deer Association and the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania.
Jugovic said the DEP would likely counter the appeal. All parties involved would then "engage in discovery," in which they discuss information collected.
He said the EHB would entertain any motions and make the final decision.
"They have a number of options, one of which is to revoke the permits and send the application back to the DEP for further action," Jugovic said.
Dave Coleman, a spokesman for BERPA, said the construction would affect rare spring-side and wetlands habitats, including both game and non-game species.
"It would disrupt hydrological functions the ridge provides on and at the foot of the ridge, and downstream," he said.
During the appeal process, Jugovic said these possible environmental impacts have been documented.
He said there could also be an alternate route besides the planned "ridge route," which would place I-99 in a valley near the existing U.S. Route 220.
Marla Fannin, PennDOT spokeswoman, said the department has thus far only received notification that an appeal has been filed.
She said PennDOT has conducted more than 100 public meetings and a thorough environmental impact study since 1992.
Any possible route for the highway construction would have had environmental effects, she said.
"The study was probably the most comprehensive environmental study in the history of PennDOT," Fannin said.
She also said PennDOT looked at the "valley floor alternative," which is the route that would run closer to Route 220 off the ridge.
Fannin said this alternative was found to have the same, if not worse, environmental impact than the ridge route. The EHB has a schedule in place for hearings, said Mary Anne Wesdock, an EHB attorney. She said the parties must submit statements for their respective cases by the end of February.
Wesdock said the hearings will take place in May and June, after the parties complete the preliminary stages.
She said this process would normally last until next fall. However, both parties asked for an expedited hearing, and a decision may be reached by the end of the summer.
