[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 9, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E442-E443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE RED ROUTE HIGHWAY THROUGH THE TOWN OF GARNER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RENEE L. ELLMERS

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 2011

  Mrs. ELLMERS. Mr. Speaker, the Army Corps of Engineers is working to 
put a highway straight through the town of Garner, in my district, 
slicing it in half.
  I rise today for the Town of Garner, whose voices must be heard.
  The Red Route would pass through the living room of Brenda and Jerry 
Summer, older residents whose children and grandchildren have moved 
back to Garner to be close to them.
  They say it will be the worst thing in the world if they had to move, 
and have no idea where they would go. Heartbroken, is how Mrs. Summer 
described the situation.
  I rise for the seniors at the Village at Aversboro that moved in with 
the confidence they are buying their final home.
  Instead, they're being put through an emotional period of stress, not 
knowing where they'll end up.
  I stand for the thousands of families that would be displaced and 
have to find new homes.
  I rise for the 140 year old Springfield Baptist Church, and the 2,000 
parishioners, who would literally lose all of their property which is 
some fifty acres of land.
  All because of the Clean Water Act and the Army Corps refusal to 
remove the Red Line from consideration.
  The oppressive regulations under the Clean Water Act are stifling 
economic growth and job creation.
  The Act allows a Dwarf Wedge Muscle and a portion of wetlands to 
paralyze a town and displace countless families and businesses.
  It gives the Army Corps of Engineers the power to stop development 
and job growth in their tracks.
  The situation is especially frustrating since the North Carolina 
Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Turnpike Authority 
say they will never build the highway.
  Even though the road is not a real option, the Army Corps insists on 
moving forward, spending hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars to 
study road that will never be built.
  Meanwhile, the town of Garner is ``Closed for Business'' and 
economically crippled as the state spends years studying a road with no 
future.
  I'm not saying the highway should not be built.
  I'm simply asking why the federal government is spending millions in 
tax payer dollars on a road with no future.

  Common sense dictates the Army Corps should find a viable option.
  Common sense dictates the Army Corps should remove the Red Line from 
the Map today.

[[Page E443]]

  As this map demonstrates, other options are much less destructive and 
even less costly to build.
  These options do not split a town in half and should be studied in 
place of the Red Line.
  The North Carolina Turnpike Authority has already dropped three other 
options from consideration because of public protests in those towns 
about the potential harm to the community.
  As each day goes by, Garner loses millions of dollars.
  Garner stands to lose a project worth $9 million in investments and 
hundreds of jobs.
  Investors are literally walking away while the town stands in limbo, 
a hostage to a heavy handed government agency.
  Further, the proposed route would cut across several tributaries 
flowing into Lake Benson, a major source of drinking water for Garner.
  Runoff from the road would empty into the lake, increasing 
sedimentation and the risk of other pollutants.
  With unemployment in my district at almost 10%, the federal 
government should get out of the way and let businesses grow.
  It's disappointing that the Army Corps, at the behest of Washington 
regulators, would consider the interests of a few tiny mussels ahead of 
the interests of the people of Garner.
  The Orange Route is the original plan proposed and has been on the 
map for nearly two decades.
  In Garner, millions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs 
would be lost.
  Twenty-six commercial lots will be destroyed, with a total tax value 
of over $30 million.
  Approximately 510 residential lots in Garner representing a tax value 
of over $106 million would be leveled.
  I came to Washington to stop out of control spending and waste and 
remove job-killing regulations. It didn't take long to find examples of 
waste and job-killing regulations right here in our district with the 
continued study of this ``Red Line.'' This option must be taken off the 
map so Garner can begin growing again.
  Garner families are fighting for their homes and livelihoods, and I 
stand with them, ready to fight until the Red Line is removed from 
consideration.

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