Charles Highway Decision Is Postponed

Environmental Officials Say More Study Is Needed

The Maryland Department of the Environment announced Friday that it had postponed its decision on whether to issue permits for the controversial cross-county connector in Charles County.

The agency had been expected to issue a decision on the highway by Friday, but spokesman Robert Ballinger said officials needed more time to consider the proposal. Ballinger said that department officials tentatively plan to announce their decision by Nov. 17.

"There are still more documents and data we'd like to see before making a decision," Ballinger said. "We will continue to work with the county to see if further time is needed."

The cross-county connector, which would link Indian Head Highway to Route 5 in northern Charles, has outraged environmental activists, who say it would destroy natural resources in and around Mattawoman Creek. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental watchdog group, said in a September report that the $70 million highway would destroy more than seven acres of wetlands.

A coalition of environmental groups, the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County, has requested that the Department of the Environment call for a full environmental impact study before making a decision.

County officials say that the road could relieve traffic congestion for thousands of commuters and that they have taken steps to ensure that environmental damage would be minimal. An environmental impact study would cost $350,000 and delay the project, already a year behind schedule, another two years, county officials said.

Ken Hastings, a spokesman for the Smarter Growth Alliance, said he thinks the postponement means that the Department of the Environment is more likely to support the group's argument. More than 2,000 affiliates of the alliance have contacted the office of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to urge him to call for an environmental impact statement, Hastings said. He said the group will encourage its members to continue writing and calling in the coming weeks.

"The longer they look at it, the more likely they are to come to the same conclusion we have, that this is a bad thing," Hastings said. "We're not popping champagne corks yet, but we're happy."