January 5, 2001

First and foremost, the action taken by the EPA is not a veto of the Legacy Parkway project. The EPA indicated that there are issues the agency feels still need to be resolved and advised the Corps to work with UDOT to resolve them to the EPA's satisfaction.

These are issues that have been discussed before and resolved to the satisfaction of the Corps of Engineers. UDOT will continue discussions with the EPA and Corps to try to resolve these concerns as swiftly as possible. However, now that the 15-day period for the EPA to comment on the 404 permit request is over, we believe the Corps now has the option of moving forward with issuing the permit.

I am confident that our mitigation plans to compensate for lost wetlands are not only sufficient, but generous, and will help protect the Great Salt Lake ecosystem for generations to come. Our plan is to mitigate the 114 acres of wetlands that will be filled during the project by buying and protecting 2,100 acres of land, 766 acres of which are wetlands.

It’s also important to remember that the Legacy Parkway project is one part of a larger "shared solution"to our transportation needs. UDOT and other agencies are working together to not only increase road capacity, but also increase mass transit capacity (such as commuter rail, light rail and buses) and implement technologies to make our transportation system more efficient.

Sincerely,

Governor Michael O. Leavitt
Fourteenth Governor of Utah