Mayor Pete ethanol plantA high-ranking critic of the Hogan administration’s plan to widen two Montgomery County highways is urging the federal government to tap the brakes on the controversial project.

In an April 2 letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.) said the project has numerous flaws, and he urged the federal government to “reevaluate” its role in it.

“These deficiencies include a lack of consideration of transit options and investment, a dated and inequitable approach to improving infrastructure that is out of step with the Biden/Harris administration’s modern approach to infrastructure, the unknowns of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel, and phasing inconsistencies between the procurement process and the planned Environmental Impact Statement,” Brown wrote.

The lawmaker also pressed the agency to re-do a time-consuming study mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a request that — if granted — would imperil Hogan’s hopes of getting the project approved before he leaves office less than two years from now.

“I hope we can meet soon to discuss this matter, and the USDOT considers taking the necessary action of restarting the NEPA process to mitigate the damage that this project would do to the State of Maryland,” said the lawmaker, who lost the 2014 gubernatorial race to Hogan in an upset.

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