Judge: federal process costly, must change

Judy Sheridan CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Thu Feb 02, 2012, 08:00 AM CST

— Parker County is a little bitty gnat in the scope of what the Federal Highway Administration does, Judge Mark Riley believes, but that shouldn’t keep it from flying in the face of a road review process that Riley finds flawed.

“I think it’s time to beat the drum a little bit,” he said, “instead of just saying, ‘we got what we needed, let everyone else fend for themselves.’”

Riley recently wrote an op-ed piece calling for a change in the federal review process, which he called “cumbersome” and “expensive.”

He illustrated his opinion by describing federal interference with the county’s biggest transportation bond project, the 5.6-mile Ric Williamson Memorial Highway.

The locally — not federally — funded $45 million project, which begins at SH 51, loops around the west side of the City of Weatherford, eventually tying into Interstate 20, a federal highway.

The first phase of the road — from SH 51 to FM 920 — opened to traffic last week.

The final phase — due to a federal requirement for an expanded environmental assessment — will probably cost Parker County taxpayers an extra $70,000 in bond money, Riley told the Democrat later, although the schedule will most likely be unaffected.

As Riley explained in his viewpoint piece, the tug-of-war over who’s in the driver’s seat stems from an evolving interpretation of the National Environmental Protection Act.

FHWA officials say NEPA requires the expanded assessment, Riley wrote, but the reason why is not spelled out.

They also believe the Act gives them review authority from the I-20 interchange to a point on the road one mile north, he said, although initially feds claimed authority over the whole road, then backed off to only 2.5 miles north of the interchange.

These changes show the decision was an arbitrary one, Riley protested.

In addition, the judge maintains that the environmental assessment would not have been required if the county had built the loop without involving the FHWA, then simply asked for a permit to access Interstate 20.

“We tried to form a partnership and lay this thing out [from the beginning] Riley said later. “In hindsight, we should have built our road and then gone to them.”

A public affairs specialist for the Federal Highway Department did not return calls by presstime.

About 10 days after commissioners voted to oppose federal interference, Riley said, the feds changed their approach, offering to expedite the process — from 18 to 36 months to 12 months — by reviewing the project concurrently with TxDOT Environmental.

“They say it will be done sometime in the fall,” he said. “Our schedule is to bid [the project] in January of 2013, so there should be no delay in schedule.”

“We’re moving forward, doing what we have to do,” he said, “but we shouldn’t be having this discussion. Someone needs to stand up and say this stuff is ridiculous.”

Parker County — and others — will have more projects in in the future, Riley said, so it is important to tell representatives in Washington that the process must be changed.

He has spoken to TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson, he said, in a meeting arranged by State Rep. Phil King, to raise awareness of the issue.

County spokesman Joel Kertok said the judge’s op-ed piece has been faxed to local congressmen and congresswomen as well as to those seated on a federal transportation committee.

Residents who want to express their concerns should contact Congresswoman Kay Granger, Riley said.

The most effective way to reach her is by email, according to a spokesperson from Granger’s office, so the responses can be easily tabulated.

To do so, go to kaygranger.house.gov.

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