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PARSONS - The state has delayed the release of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the Parsons-to-Davis section of Corridor H until November, officials said.
The SDEIS had originally been expected to be released on Monday, but officials are now reviewing whether the state adequately evaluated the proposed alignments, as opposed to the "preferred alternatives," under the National Environmental Policy Act.
A public comment period will begin immediately following the release of the SDEIS on Nov. 5, giving residents and environmental groups a chance to review the alignment analysis.
The Friends of the Blackwater and Go North officials are "anxiously awaiting this document to see whether the West Virginia Division of Highways seriously studied both proposed alignments, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), or whether the analysis favors WVDOH's preferred (Revised Original Preferred Alternative) ROPA alignment," according to a social media post by the groups.
"Once the SDEIS is released, a public comment period will begin," the post continues. "This will be an important opportunity to review the study, raise concerns, and put state and federal highway agencies on notice about issues that could potentially form the basis for legal action."
In April, The Friends of Blackwater delivered more than 3,000 petition signatures to Gov. Patrick Morrisey's office calling for Morrisey and other state leaders to change a proposed Corridor H route. The organization, which works to protect and promote the 10,000-acre Blackwater Canyon, is urging that a northern route be chosen for the portion of Corridor H currently scheduled to run near Davis and Thomas. Proponents of the alternate northern route suggest that it will avoid irreversible damage to the Blackwater Canyon.
Another planned section of Corridor H is also facing controversy.
In August, citizen and environmental groups filed a federal injunction to halt construction on a new section of Corridor H, just weeks after the state had awarded a contract to build it.
The Stewards of the Potomac Highlands and the Virginia Wilderness Committee filed the motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of West Virginia, regarding the proposed stretch of Corridor H running from Wardensville to the Virginia state line.
The move follows the West Virginia Division of Highways awarding an $85.4 million contract in July to begin work on the new section.
The lawsuit alleges that the Federal Highway Administration failed to “evaluate the less destructive and vastly less expensive alternative of making spot improvements to existing roads.”