Stokely said he hoped other regulatory bodies, such as the Commonwealth Transportation Board and local governments, would take note of the EPA concerns and ask VDOT to lessen the impacts. Stokely said he wrote the letter, which was signed by Richard Pepino, director of the EPA regional office in Philadelphia. Although it was dated Jan. 12 and written in the last days of the Clinton administration, none of President Bush's environmental policies change the EPA's role of reviewing environmental impact statements, Stokely said. The EPA letter was posted on a Web site Wednesday by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, an activist group opposed to building a new interstate. Candidates take I-73 en route to November Interstate 73 has overlaid itself on the road map of this fall's election campaign, with several Democrats lining up against its proposed route through Southeast Roanoke and Roanoke County.
Interstate opponents say historical sites and environmental issues are their best means of defense.
Henry County residents somehow got I-73 rerouted. The endangered fish, farm land and forests are concerns that may affect the federal approval of I-73. The new plan through Henry County will also cost just a little less to build. It won't be an interstate in West Virginia. In Virginia, the section from Bluefield to Roanoke is on the back burner.