8A
Tuesday, August 22, 1994
CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Failed lawsuit may spur trafficway alternatives
County says it will study problems associated with Lawrence trafficway
"Although the plaintiffs believe that the FHWA's ultimate decision concerning the SLT project to be [a] serious error, the court is persuaded that the defendant has taken a 'hard look' at all the environmental issues implicated by the SLT project," he wrote in his decision.
By Carlos Tejada Kansan staff writer
A local environmental group may have lost the battle but won the war in its lawsuit against the federal government.
Sam Crow, U.S. district judge for Kansas, disagreed when the decision was handed down July 1.
The Federation to Rescue Our Greenpeace lost a lawsuit against the Federal Highway Administration on July 1 it had filed last year on behalf of the northern crawfish frog. They said the administration had made out the final environmental impact statement, which is a report required by the federal government to assess any environmental impact a federally funded project might have, without considering alternative routes for the South Lawrence Trafficway.
The trafficway then was scheduled to go along 31st Street and through the Baker Wetlands, where a population of the frog lives. The state of Kansas lists the frog as a species in need of conservation.
But the group was not upset at the loss, said Clark H. Coan, Lawrence resident and member of the group. He said the intent of the lawsuit was to get Douglas County to look at alternatives and to prepare a supplement to the federal study.
And John Pasley, project coordinator for the county, said the county was doing both. He said the county also would seek the opinions of Haskell students and environmental groups before finalizing the eastern half of the trafficway's route.
Pro and con
County feud
Trafficway proponents say:
The debate concerning the South Lawrence Trafficway often gets confusing. But the arguments on both sides can be boiled down to a few key points.
Trafficway proponents say:
■ Lawrence traffic is becoming unmanageable. John Pasley, Douglas County project coordinator,
says he was driving an elephant about 30,000 cars each day but would soon exceed that.
- The trafficway will provide easier access to Clinton Lake for visitors from the Kansas City area. Those visitors will take the trafficway instead of driving through Lawrence and adding to the traffic.
County planners will work with environmental groups and Haskell Indian Nations University to preserve both the Bake wetlands and the area's spiritual qualities. They have already offered several realistic plans to accomplish this, including the creation of a larger wetland area for the northern crawfish frog.
Trafficway opponents say:
Trafficway construction and traffic will ruin the spiritual value of the wetlands, where Haskell students celebrate religious ceremonies. The Haskell medicine wheel and sweat lodges are located near there.
The trafficway would destroy the fragile wetlands. It would destroy the habitat of the northern crawfish frog, which is listed as a species in need of conservation by the state of Kansas.
Business would develop along the trafficw, making it just as crowded as 23rd Street.
Source: Kansan staff report
"Although we lost the lawsuit, we might get what we want anyway," Coan said.
He said because the county was being cooperative, the group wouldn't appeal the decision.
According to federal law, the study cannot halt construction of a project. Instead, the study is intended to present information to the local government body involved in the project.
Reaction favorable to Mexican election
Continued from Page 1A.
served by the PRI continuing in power," said Elizabeth Kuznesof, director of the Center of Latin American Studies.
Kuznesof said that the election would be a boon for Kansas in terms of agricultural exports because the PRI is committed to increasing trade with the United States through the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The problem with another party winning the election, Kuznesof said, is the chaos that would probably result. That chaos would hurt the United States, which needs a stable
Mexican president in its relations with Mexico.
"I suspect that many Mexicans don't want chaos," she said. "I suspect that regardless of the unhappiness many feel with the election results, nothing much will happen."
Kuznesof said that, in some ways,
Mexico is a progressive country.
"Compared to other countries, the military isn't dominant in Mexico," she said. "The structure of the government has kept the military subordinate. Also, education has been a very important issue in Mexico. And, third, they have had more agrarian reform than other countries."
While Mexico remains an industrial leader in Latin America, Kuznesof
said the country had the worst income distribution in the area next to Brazil.
"Development is still a higher priority than social justice." she said.
This year's presidential elections were full of controversy. Zedillo became the PRI's candidate in March after the assassination of Luis Donald Colosio, the party's first candidate. And the two losers in the elections claimed voter fraud as 20,000 protesters marched in Mexico City's central square yesterday. Despite the Mexican government spending $730 million to overhaul voter registration and to issue photo identity cards, protestors said a shortage of ballots in rural areas hurt non-PRI
candidates.
The 82,000 domestic and foreign election observers said the election was largely fair.
"I think it was the first one that was fair in a long time," he said.
Hector Perez, Mexico City senior said he thought the elections were fair.
Perez said that loyalty to the PRI was based partially on fear of change and lack of valid alternatives. He added that Mexicans are becoming more informed politically.
"People are becoming more politicized, less deceived, and less passive." he said.
The Associated Press contributed Information to this story.
Environmental concerns lead to safety council
Environmental safety should improve with new consolidation
By David Wilson
Kansan staff writer
The offices that oversee environmental concerns at the University of Kansas will undergo a major restructuring this semester.
One change will be the creation of a new council called the Environmental Health and Safety Council. The council will be a consolidation of the approximately 10 committees on campus that address issues such as campus safety, radiation sources and disposal of toxic materials.
lor, said a faculty member would be appointed as coordinator of the council within the month.
Ed Meyen, executive vice chancel-
Another change will be the renaming of the Department of Research, Health and Safety. The office, which is responsible for hands-on environmental tasks such as the disposal of chemicals from chemistry labs on campus, will be renamed the Office of Environment, Health and Safety.
Mike Russel, an environmental health and safety officer for the office, said the removal of the word "research" was appropriate.
"Really, that's not what we were doing." Russel said.
A more accurate description of the office, he said, is "Making sure buildings don't blow up."
Meyen said an additional person with a professional background in environmental issues would be hired
to work with the people already on staff at the office. Ben Friesen, director of the department, will remain on staff.
The office also will take on the duties once handled by the environmental ombudsman, Steven Hamburg. Hamburg, an associate professor of biology, left the position to do research for the Environmental Defense Fund in New York. He was responsible for making recommendations on environmental issues to the executive vice chancellor's office.
Staffers and administrators say the restructuring will help the University better deal with state and federal environmental regulations and improve campus safety.
"We have to be very concerned about what happens in our labs," Meyen said. "We need to make sure we have full compliance."
Russel said a growing awareness of environmental issues on campus was another reason for the restructuring. In addition, the environmental ambudsman's duties had become too time consuming for a teaching faculty member.
"There's a wealth of reasons why people want to see improvement." Russel said. "Programs have a tendency to mature. And faculty members need to teach and do research. We're at an evolution stage."
With the new council and office, the University will get a more comprehensive picture of the ways in which it impacts the environment, Russel said.
"We're trying to look at the total environmental, health and safety picture," Russel said. "There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle."
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