Once more unto the breach! Caltrans is back with another round of public comment for the Richardson Grove Project, which promises dead and injured trees in exchange for more and bigger trucks in our community. In our next newsletter, we will have an action alert. But before we do, we wanted to make sure that you had access to the project file. You can find the new documents to review here.
Caltrans is ploughing forward with its controversial highway “improvement” project through Richardson Grove State Park. Held up in court for over a decade, Caltrans refuses to do what numerous courts have required of it: complete a full environmental impact statement. Its stubborn refusal to take a hard look at the likely impacts of its actions is worrying and its callous treatment of the public’s opposition reflects its ultimate belief that it is above the public.
Caltrans has just announced that it is soliciting comments on its “addendum” to the original project documents. This public comment opportunity is only because EPIC won at the Humboldt County Superior Court, finding that the agency had included significant new information into the project file without giving the public an opportunity to comment.