Blue Heron along Creve Coeur Creek, interesection of Creve Coeur Mill and St. Louis Waterworks Roads

Snowy Egrets at the Terra Vista Lake known as DB-6 on the Page-Olive Connector EA/Location Study

Points of interest for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

1. A project of this magnitude demands that an Environmental Impact Study be done. The current Environmental Assessment that expired in 2002 is insufficient.
   
2. Construction of a four-lane highway down the center line of Creve Coeur Creek could have devastating impacts to the creek’s beneficial uses (protection of aquatic life including human health protection for fish consumption, swimming and livestock and wildlife watering [per Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources, May 26, 2009].
   
3. USACE: “According to the EA, no species of conservation concern, including State and Federal listed threatened and endangered species, were observed during field reconnaissance of the study area. In addition, the report stated that there is no formally designated critical habitat within the study area.”
   
   a. St. Louis County Environmental Assessment (4/16/09): The following Federal and State listed species have been observed during field reconnaissance of the study area:American bittern, Snowy egret, northern harrier, king rail, peregrine falcon, loggerhead shrike, pied-billed grebe, least bittern, little blue heron, black-crowned heron, sora rail, common moorhen, marsh wren, Henslow’s sparrow, Virginia rail, great egret, cooper’s hawk. yellow-headed blackbird, black tern. In addition, the area is potential habitat for the Indiana bat.
   
4. The increase in impermeable surfaces caused by the project will exacerbate flooding already occurring in the area.
   
5. The chosen alternative (Alternative 4) will have the most detrimental effect on the environment with high impacts to the floodplain.
   
6. Alternative 4 is the most expensive of all alternatives.
   
7. Pollutants removed from the elevated roadway via runoff will be channeled into the creek and adjacent wetlands.
   
8. Erosion to bluffs along the western edge of the project area, already a serious problem, will increase due to construction of and vibrations from the roadway.
   
9. St. Louis County’s representatives Sheryl Hodges, John Hicks and Glenn Henninger have stated that the wetland will be moved for two and one half years and then moved back to its original location. That is not stated in this application.
   
10. The new highway will have negative impact on property values along the project area. Current studies show 17-42 percent decrease along St. Louis highway projects for like home style and home price.
    
11. The cultural resources in the area were obviously ignored, thus being disturbed or destroyed by recent development allowed there. There has been no guarantee that the current evaluation will result in protection from further damage.
    
12. Traffic studies conducted by Crawford, Bunte, Brammeier show that traffic to accrue from this construction is foreseen worse than currently indicated in less than twenty years.
    
13. Economic studies show that the development planned for the Howard Bend floodplain is mostly retail. Economic indicators show a downhill trend in retail developments as such effecting local economies due to lack of industry and increase of minimum wage earners making less and relying on government assistance. The destruction of farmland will lessen the local economic impact for every local dollar spent by 40 percent.
    
14. There is no amount of paint or intricate concrete design that will make this bridge appealing in this natural setting. There has been no proven benefit to the fish and wildlife in the area. More concrete and destruction of watershed will only increase the already increasing flooding in the area.

Army Corps of Engineers permit application

St Louis County has applied for their Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. They need this permit to be able to fill in the wetlands where their portion of the highway is proposed to be constructed and thus need it to go forward. The 404 permit is still in the public comment phase, meaning it is not final and has not been granted, but the Army Corps is soliciting public input about whether or not the permit should be granted. You can see the permit here.

The comment period is open until October 16, 2009. Comments can be submitted as detailed in the permit application (to the Army Corps address on the first page of the permit). Please submit comments -- any personal experiences you have with flooding in the area in/near where the road is proposed to be built, or anything else that you feel is inaccurate in the permit application would be important to comment on. Additionally, as part of the 404 permitting process, the Corps allows interested parties to request a public hearing on a permit application (public hearings are not routinely held as part of the 404 process, but can be held by the Corps if they so choose). A public hearing would be another place to have our voices heard, and would obviously do a little bit to slow the project down, so it's important that we let the Corps know that we want one.

Letter to the editor of the Post-Dispatch, published 9/21/09:

Regarding "Chesterfield accepts 141 work, tries to limit impact" (Sept. 13): Here are some questions that everyone should be asking about the Highway 141 project:

— What health problems will occur from routing a six-lane highway directly over an open source for our drinking water?

— How was the Missouri Department of Transportation able to use an expired environmental assessment that doesn't include any newer development?

— What will happen when construction stirs up toxic chemicals in the soil and creek from Parkway's non-regulated reclamation facility?

— Why isn't the mayor insisting an environmental impact statement be done?

— There are legal appeals and lawsuits pending, so what happens when the deadlines for federal funding can't be met?

— St. Louis County and MoDOT have not acquired all the land needed; how are they able to start construction and how much land are they planning to condemn and take by eminent domain?

— How can they start construction when all permits needed are not secured?

— Do Chesterfield residents know they are paying $15 million for this extension, $10 million for prettier bricks and $5 million for the northern section of the road itself. That is on top of the money they are paying as a resident of the county. How much more are we going to take? The mayor of Chesterfield tells us not to fight because that makes it easier for him, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight. The question isn't why we would fight; it's why wouldn't we?

Kim Cuddeback — Maryland Heights
Co-founder, Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth

Mayor John Nations against Chesterfield

From the Post-Dispatch: Chesterfield mayor on the front lines of Highway 141

Nations, you don't get it. Residents don't want the project stopped. What they want is due process.

Building a 6-lane elevated highway on top of and through high-quality wetlands, demolishing a homestead that's eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, blowing off warnings from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, not conducting an Environmental Impact Study, beginning work without permits and without all right-of-way acquisitions completed, spending much, much more money than is necessary ($72 MILLION FOR FIVE MILES) ----- this is absolutely irresponsible, Mayor.

Lies

Crews have been starting extremely loud work on the bluffs of River Bend Estates at 4:40 a.m. This work has awoken residents and children one-quarter and one-half mile away from the work site.

No one has permission to work on River Bend Estates property.

St. Louis County states that MSD is doing utility work for the new 141. MSD, when inquired about this, says MSD is not doing work in the area at all - that it's the County doing the work.

Also, MoDot contributed to the untruths by issuing the following press release:

Traffic Alert: Utility grading work starts Tuesday for Hwy. 141 project
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and its contractor, Dave Kolb
Grading, starts grading work in preparation for the Hwy. 141 relocation project
that begins early next year.
Crews will start grading north of Olive Blvd. near Woodchase on Sept. 8 to prepare for utility relocations needed as part of a project to upgrade and move Hwy. 141 further east.
The center turn lane of Olive Blvd. will be closed near Woodchase and just east of Toreador; however, drivers at those locations will be able to access Olive Blvd. Drivers can expect heavy truck traffic crossing Olive Blvd. Crews will not be working on the roadway between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. weekdays, and 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. weekends to minimize noise for local residents.
The $742,000 job will excavate north of Olive Blvd., build an embankment south of Olive and generally grade the area south of Olive to prepare for utility work. The project is funded using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (economic stimulus) money.
Plan ahead to avoid work zones by calling 1-888-ASK-MODOT or visiting modot.org.