Foothill-South Toll Road Fails to Meet Criteria for Bush Administration Override

Elected Officials and Save San Onofre Coalition Voice Strong Opposition To
Toll Road Through San Onofre State Beach

DEL MAR, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- In an eight-plus hour event and
with more than 3,000 toll road opponents in attendance, state and local
elected officials and members of the Save San Onofre Coalition spoke before
three Bush Administration officials overseeing a Commerce Department hearing
on the Foothill-South Toll Road.
"The people of Orange and San Diego Counties reject this road," commented
Bobby Shriver, Santa Monica Councilman and former president of the California
State Park and Recreation Commission. "They have proved that by showing up in
huge numbers at the Parks Commission hearings, at the Coastal Commission
hearing and again today at the Commerce Department hearing."
Testimony focused on how the toll road fails to meet the Commerce
Department's specific criteria to overturn the California Coastal Commission's
Feb. 2008 decision against the project. Some notables testifying included:
California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer; State Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San
Diego); Santa Monica Councilman Bobby Shriver; Irvine Councilman Larry Agran,
who as a TCA board member cast a vote against the proposed toll road
alignment; and San Diego Councilwoman Donna Frye.
"There is no compelling national interest to over-ride the California
Coastal Commission, the toll road fails to meet the criteria for an override,
and the proposed toll road's adverse impacts outweigh the purported and
questionable benefits of this project," Lockyer stated in his testimony at
today's hearing. "Reasonable alternatives exist that both TCA and the Federal
Highway Administration have refused to explore adequately."
"No credible basis exists to believe the TCA's 11th hour claim that its
project is essential to national security. The Marine Corps has publicly
rejected the claim, presumably because running a toll road through Camp
Pendleton would inevitably impede, not improve, our military readiness," added
Lockyer.
"The TCA and the politicians comprising its board provided no new
information that supports a Bush Administration override of the State of
California," stated Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State
Parks Foundation and member of the Save San Onofre Coalition. "For the TCA, a
single-purpose agency focused solely on building and operating toll roads, to
select a route through the 5th most popular state park in California is a bad
idea...one that must be stopped."
About The Save San Onofre Coalition:
The Save San Onofre Coalition is a diverse coalition of individuals and
groups that includes four former state parks commissioners, local, regional,
state and national environmental organizations, cities, counties and elected
officials statewide. For more information about the Save San Onofre
Coalition, visit http://www.savesanonofre.com.
SOURCE The Save San Onofre Coalition

Matt Klink, +1-310-283-6267, matt@cerrell.com, for The Save San Onofre
Coalition