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April
2007 Update
Summer 2006 image of the UC Merced (Phase 1)
campus.
2002 to Present
Readers unfamiliar with the history of this project and the
controversy surrounding the environmental impacts of the proposed
campus should refer to the History to 2002
page.
Since certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report
required by state law, the UC proceeded to build Phase 1 of the
campus on the former Merced Hills Golf Course. In the fall of
2005, the campus opened with three partially completed buildings.
Touted as a great achievement, these accommodations are projected
to serve the campus until 2008. After that the UC will need to
expand the campus or scale back their ambitions regarding
enrollment, majors, faculty and research facilities.
The UC proceeded with campus construction despite warnings from
the federal regulators and the environmental community that their
proposed Phase 2 expansion would not comply with Section 404(b)(1)
of the Clean Water Act, a federal law. This law requires the UC to
adopt the "least environmentally damaging practicable
alternative" for their project. Destroying high quality
vernal pools and their federally endangered occupants, when
alternative sites can be identified, does not quality as least
environmentally damaging.
Numerous environmental groups also pointed out that the UC was
squandering public trust resources (taxpayer dollars) by starting
to build the new campus without first obtaining their federal
permits for the entire campus and proposed new town. The UC and
County of Merced were repeatedly urged to comply with federal law
before proceeding.
Federal Permitting Status
On June 30, 2006, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
required by federal law was released. The DEIS was later rescinded
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (charged with regulating
wetlands under the Clean Water Act) as being incomplete. The
Corps
Media Advisory states that an additional technical appendix
will be added to the existing DEIS. The new technical appendix was
expected to take 3-4 months to complete. Newest update is that
the DEIS will be released in May 2007.
Next Steps in the Permitting
Process
Stay tuned for the new DEIS to be released in (probably) May
2007. At that time, the public will have 60 days to comment on
the project as proposed by the UC and on several less
environmentally damaging alternatives identified by the Corps. A
public hearing will also be held during the public comment
period.
This document and its public review process can provide
concerned citizens with an opportunity to question the need for
three story buildings, surface parking and far more land than any
of the other UC institutions. The current configuration is not
smart growth... and it does not attempt to minimize impacts to
wetlands and endangered species.
What You Can Do
Talking points for comments and public testimony on the DEIS
and the alternatives will be posted once the new DEIS has been
released. Stay tuned.
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