storyhill.net, Dec. 4, 2006

DeBruin calls for full environmental study for Zoo Interchange project

Dec. 4 -- The state should perform a full environmental impact study for the Zoo Interchange reconstruction project, County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin said.

“Absolutely,” she said. "It's not doing your homework unless you are doing the full EIS."

DeBruin joins Mayor Tom Barrett and Ald. Michael Murphy in calling for an in-depth study of the project's potential impacts.

Without a careful study, DeBruin said, "“Two years after you fixed the damned thing you could be redoing it all.”

Gov. Jim Doyle, bowing to Republican pressure during this year's election campaign, has directed that Zoo Interchange reconstruction be accelerated so the project can start in 2012, rather than in 2016 as previously proposed.

The project is being pushed forward even though the Department of Transportation is delaying numerous projects in other parts of the state due to funding constraints.

Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi has requested $24 million in 2007-09 for studies related to the Zoo Interchange project. Busalacchi and his department have made clear they do not want to do a full environmental impact study for the project, even though the project area includes schools and parks.

While conducting an environmental assessment would not preclude a full environmental impact study later, Busalacchi has said the state wants to save time and money on environmental studies -- a clear indication that an in-depth look at the environmental impacts of the project is not WisDOT's desired outcome..

“The whole philosophy of EIS studies is there is something important to address here, and that is the long term environmental impacts,” DeBruin said. The Department of Transportation has not given a good reason for wanting to skip the full study, she said.

The argument that a lesser study is cheaper isn't persuasive, she said. Instead, the department should adopt the attitude of “ 'Better safe than sorry' rather than 'is this going to slow the project,' ” she said.