The following are comments prepared By Betsy Bennet on behalf of the Cumberland Chapter regarding request for Consulting Party Status; Kentucky TriModal Transpark Access Road and I-65 Interchange; KYTC Item No. 03-16.00. These comments were submitted to Renee Slaughter, Environmental Coordinator, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet - District 3, on November 12, 2003.
Ms. Renee Slaughter
Environmental Coordinator
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, District 3
P. O. Box 599
Bowling Green, Kentucky 42102
RE: Request for Consulting Party Status; Kentucky TriModal Transpark
Access Road and I-65 Interchange;
KYTC Item No. 03-16.00
Dear Ms. Slaughter:
The Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club (Cumberland Chapter) represents approximately 4,500 members in Kentucky, including members in Bowling Green-Warren County. For the reasons identified below; we request consulting party status in the Section 106 process for the above-referenced project.
The rules of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation provide that “certain individuals or organizations with a demonstrated interest in the undertaking” may participate as a consulting party in the Section 106 process due to:
1) “the nature of their legal or economic relation to the undertaking or affected properties,” or
2) “their concern with the undertaking’s effect on historic properties (emphasis added).”
The mission of the Cumberland Chapter includes protection and restoration of the quality of the natural and human environment. The development of the proposed new interstate highway interchange and access road is an integral component of the proposed Kentucky Trimodal Transpark, a 4,000-6,000-acre industrial park, airport, and rail facility. The Cumberland Chapter has been a key stakeholder in responding to the Transpark proposal since 2000, has attended numerous public meetings in Warren County sponsored by the project proponents, and has responded to every oral and written public comment opportunity provided by the project proponents.
The Cumberland Chapter is particularly concerned about the project’s proposed conversion of historic family farms to industrial use, as well as the indirect and cumulative impacts from land development on historic family farms and the rural landscape of north Warren County. Further, the Cumberland Chapter is concerned about the project’s direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on Mammoth Cave National Park which is actively used by our membership for recreational and service outings. Mammoth Cave National Park features a number of National Register-listed sites and certainly contains National Register-eligible above- and below-ground historic properties. The proposed interchange and access road is expressly designed to serve and benefit the proposed Transpark which will have indirect and cumulative impacts on the historic resources of the Park.
Please address all correspondence to the Cumberland Chapter to my attention at the address provided below.
Sincerely,
Betsy Bennett
Conservation Chair
Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club
(snip)
copy: Ms. Lane Boldman, Chapter Chair
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