Comments about the Highway 1 widening noted

Isn't it the case that the studies in bold below were already determined in the Caltrans DEIR?

Pacifica Tribune, Letters to the Editor, 4/2/13.  "class="letterhead">Highway widening" by Todd McCune Bray

Pacificans need 20 more years to figure-out traffic

"Editor:  At last weeks council meeting during Item number 7 (an item Council member Sue Digre had added regarding the highway widening project) there was a lot of talk by our city manager and council members about the final environmental document from Caltrans about the highway widening project. It seems that our council and city manager are awaiting the final document, commonly referred to as an FEIR, because it will have all the answers to their questions. Both staff and council are confident that all the issues they have, all their questions and pet peeves will be addressed in the FEIR.

That sounds great, but to my knowledge, and that of Caltrans itself, neither city staff nor city council ever submitted comments or questions to Caltrans concerning this project when the project's draft environmental document was being circulated to the public and public agencies like the city. A draft environmental document is commonly referred to as a DEIR, and by law must contain a list of impacts a project will have on a variety of issues from air quality, endangered species and even archeological resources.

To be clear, the only real difference between a DEIR and an FEIR is the FEIR contains all the questions and comments the public and public agencies had on the information provided in a project's DEIR (in this case, Caltrans highway widening project) and any responses to those comments. However, in most cases the responses need be nothing more than a brisk "Comment noted," which as you know means virtually nothing and provides no new answers what-soever.

So I'm curious by our city manager's insistence and that of our council about the answers they are waiting for in the highway widening project's FEIR since they never questioned the project or the information presented in the highway widening DEIR. If our council has questions they are waiting to be answered it would be nice to know what those questions are. Item 7 would have given the council a chance to ask those questions directly to Caltrans letting us, their constituents, know what those questions are even if it meant a response to their questions from Caltrans was nothing more than the legally obligatory, "Comment noted."
----  
Reference -  Caltrans DEIR public meeting outline , 9/22/11, 25 pages, describes stakeholder relationship, opportunities for public involvement including comments, project progress, studies conducted, and alternative project considerations.  Other public meetings included the Environmental Scoping meeting 3/3/10, the public information meeting 6/22/10.  Prior to that there was a preliminary studies meeting (about 2005).  Caltrans is the lead agency for environmental process, and the owner/operator of State Route 1.  San Mateo County Tranportation Authority and  the City of Pacifica are sponsoring Agencies. Public comments provide scoping input to these meetings. Regulatory Agencies provide permitting (page 3).    Related Fix Pacifica articles - Highway 1 articles.  

Posted by Kathy Meeh