RESOLUTION NO. 87-04
A RESOLUTION OF THE WEST MIFFLIN SANITARY SEWER MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY,
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THIS ORGANIZATION TO INTERVENE OR
OTHERWISE PARTICIPATE IN ANY COURT CHALLENGES TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MON
VALLEY/FAYETTE EXPRESSWAY PA ROUTE 51 TO I-376 PROJECT.
WHEREAS,
the Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway PA Route 51 to 1-376 Project
is a major
component of the Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway Projects: and
WHEREAS, this
100-mile highway network is the cornerstone project for the economic revitalization of
WHEREAS, the 24-mile
PA Route 51 to 1-376 Expressway Project will promote economic revitalization by
improving access in the project corridor to an estimated 1,500 acres of brownfield sites, an estimated 715
manufacturers employing approximately 25.000
employees, and 49 communities; and
WHEREAS,
the project will also address major, traffic congestion and safety-issues in
WHEREAS,
it is recognized that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is the agency designated by PA
State Act 61 of 1985 and PA State Act 26 of 1991 for the advancement of the
entire Expressway and Southern Beltway network; and
WHEREAS,
the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission has included the Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway
and Southern Beltway in their regional transportation plan; and
WHEREAS, the
preferred alternative, as stated in the PA Route 51 to 1-376 Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway Final Environmental
Impact Statement, is for an expressway toll road that extends from PA
Route 51 in Jefferson Hills Borough to the 1-376 East in Monroeville and Pittsburgh; and
WHEREAS,
opportunity for comment on the PA Route 51 to 1-376 Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway
Project was provided through the environmental impact statement review process
(as required under Federal law including the National Environmental Protection Act of 1991, as
amended) that concluded on April 6, 2004; and
WHEREAS,
it is anticipated that there is a strong likelihood that certain organizations and/or
individuals will file
a court action naming the
Turnpike
Commission and other defendants in an effort to delay or stop progress on the PA Route 5! to 1-376 Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway; and
WHEREAS, it is
recognized that, in the event of the court filings by such groups, supporters of the Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway
and Southern Beltway Projects, led by the
Mon Valley Progress Council, will seek to be intervening parties in support of
the project, and in connection
therewith will be represented by legal counsel on a pro bono basis; and
WHEREAS,
it is the desire of this organization to support the Mon Valley/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway Projects by
seeking to intervene or otherwise participate
in any court challenges to the project.
NOW,
THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of Directors of the West Mifflin
Sanitary Sewer Municipal Authority, that in the event of a court filing by organizations and/or individuals seeking to
delay or stop progress on the PA
Route 51 to 1-376 Expressway Project, the proper officers are hereby authorized
to take those actions necessary to join with those persons and entities seeking
intervener status in any such litigation in
support of the project and, in the event intervener status is not granted, to join in the filing of an amicus
"friend of the court" brief in support of the project, it
being understood that this organization will be provided legal representation on a pro bono basis at no
cost to it.
RESOLVED
AND ADOPTED THIS 4th DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2004.
ATTEST:
SEWER
MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
John P. Schmidt,
Secretary By:
William G. Kiger, Chairman
Albert Kopay,
Assistant Secretary