Dear Mayor Costa and Senator Harris,
Your letter states that "TXDOT has assured me that there is no cause for concern along Highway FM2499. Further, TxDOT has stated there is no need for an Environmental Impact Study [EIS] as a result of the Lancet study being published".
I hope that, as elected officials, you were diligent in your investigation into this very real concern. That you reviewed all the documents TXDOT used in their study to support your above quote and your position that our children will not suffer lung damage do to this Highway. We would all very much like to see these documented studies from TXDOT (Tuesday would be an opportune time) as the only findings we have, through extensive research, support the Lancet study.
Please provide the names of the TXDOT officials you conferred with as they have more information then the Director of Environmental Affairs appears to have. This is from a July 9th letter we received;
In a recent letter from TXDOT, Dianna Noble (Director of Environmental Affairs) provides the following assessment of TXDOT's capability to understand pollution impact on human health. In summary:
1) The EPA tool has limited applicability at the project level
2) The limitations of dispersion models makes it difficult to assess potential health risks
3) Shortcomings in current techniques preclude us from reaching meaningful conclusions about project-specific health impact
4) These limitations do not allow us to accurately predict the risk of potential impacts on the community and public health following the construction of a proposed road
Regards,
Todd Luther
