LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON

As a result of the high level of public interest, and as part of the Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) commitment to maintaining an open and public process, UDOT has made the public comments received during the Final EIS comment period available here.

UDOT received more than 13,000 comments on the Final EIS from Aug. 31 to Oct. 17, 2022. Public input from all comment periods informs the decision-making process and over the course of the Little Cottonwood Canyon EIS, the project team has received more than 35,000 comments, more than any UDOT project.

UDOT is currently doing a comprehensive review of all comments received on the Final EIS, but has not completed this review process.

It’s important to clarify that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process UDOT follows doesn’t tally comments as a “yes” or “no” vote like a referendum. The NEPA public comment process is not a vote, but rather an opportunity for UDOT to field concerns, suggestions or criticism for a project’s purpose and need, alternatives, and to evaluate whether additional engineering or environmental analysis is needed, as well as the mitigation measures proposed to minimize environmental impact. The public comment periods and input received throughout the EIS process provide opportunities for UDOT to improve the study documentation and make sure it’s thorough, accurate, and complete.

UDOT will consider all comments received on the Final EIS and other formal public comments when deciding which alternative and sub-alternatives are selected in the Record of Decision (ROD). This is only part of the information analyzed in the decision-making process. UDOT also determines how the alternative best meets the project purpose, and considers an alternative’s environmental impacts, which includes impacts to water quality, air quality, and visual and noise impacts, among others.

The ROD, as the next and final step in the EIS process, will identify the final alternative and final mitigation measures, and is anticipated to be issued in the winter of 2022/2023. Implementation of the selected alternative may only occur after the ROD is issued, other permits and authorizations are obtained, and when federal, state and/or private funding is identified.

UDOT has been coordinating with cooperating agency partners (agencies with regulatory authority and specialized subject matter expertise), local governments and non-governmental organizations, and state officials throughout the study and will continue to do so.