I understand that one reason for opposing the construction of I-3 through North Georgia is in response to the health, safety and environmental issues raised by any people living along the route currently used by trucks carrying nuclear waste. We all know that nuclear materials are extremely dangerous and accidents can happen with horrific human and environmental consequences.

This being the case, current and new development along the proposed I-3 corridor should be banned for a safe distance on either side. Otherwise, as aforementioned, we are simply recreating the very same health, safety and environmental problems, 10 years and beyond, down the nuclear waste highway.

Eric Harkness
Sautee-Nacoochee

12/12/07, Knoxville News Sentinel
Opinion
DOE incinerator down as waste concerns go up
"EnergySolutions plans to import about 20,000 tons of Italy's nuclear waste and to process the radioactive materials in Oak Ridge. The company's waste-treatment complex on Bear Creek Road, which includes an incinerator for low-level nuclear waste, is a just a few miles from the DOE incinerator at the East Tennessee Technology Park. Susan Gawarecki, executive director of the Local Oversight Committee, last week said importing waste from foreign countries adds to the risk quotient, whether it's from emissions from waste burning or the possibility of truck accidents." Read more...

12/7/07, The Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
Editorial
Europe should handle its own nuclear waste
"The Volunteer State already has enough radioactive waste to contend with at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and TVA nuclear power plants. U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon has been fighting for years to keep Tennessee from becoming the dumping ground for America's nuclear waste. Gordon, D-Murfreesboro, is adamantly opposed to turning Tennessee into the repository for radioactive waste from Europe. We support his efforts." Read more...

10/19/07, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Editorial Opinion by Wayne Jenkins
The profit-hungry in Ga. soon might thirst
"Drought is a naturally occurring weather cycle. It has been and will be into the foreseeable future. If we do not understand the physical reality that natural constraints will someday impose controls on Georgia's often-wasteful approach to growth, then we will face crisis. We should admit the problem is largely of our own making. You can't predict or control the weather. Why does a metropolitan area as large as Atlanta or a state as booming as Georgia not have a general water plan already in place? Isn't that what our elected officials are supposed to do — plan for the future, and bring a rational approach to society for a better tomorrow?" Read more...

From Paul Broun, US Representaive, 10th District, GA:
A letter to let you know where I stand

Letter to the editors of The Towns County Herald, Sept. 20, 2007.
Republished with permission.

(CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW FOR A LARGER VIEW)

9/11/07, Columbia County News-Times
Comments omitted sponsorship of CLEAR Act, 'could mislead' on I-3
Letter-to-the-Editor from U.S. Rep. Paul C. Broun
"The editorial also brought up the I-3 interstate project in a context which might mislead a reader who was unaware that I support the creation of a North-South highway corridor from Augusta.. . . .I believe that some proposals, such as widening Georgia 17 to four lanes and running it south from Habersham County to I-20, or running an interstate connection from Augusta to Greenville, South Carolina, might make more sense and should be considered. Unlike the backers of the I-3 proposal, I am not convinced that we need to spend the huge amounts of money it would take to build new roads over and through the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee." Read more...

8/28/07, The Northeast Georgian
Come Together Now to Stop a Potential Disaster
What do farmers, artisans, musicians, owners of museums, cultural institutions, shops, restaurants and hotels, and residents of and visitors to the northeast Georgia mountains have in common? Maybe not much, but on the other hand, maybe a lot. We all love this place and we want to see it thrive. We recognize that there is something very unique here that is not found anywhere else in Georgia; maybe not anywhere else in the nation. We realize that we live, work or restore our sanity in a place that is precious and that should be treasured and protected. Read more...

8/24/07, Winston-Salem Journal
Transportation Crisis
North Carolina faces a transportation crisis. Like those in much of the rest of the nation, our roads and bridges have grown old without necessary maintenance. Our airports have surpassed capacity, and most mass-transit systems are inadequate. Read more...

08/16/07, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OUR OPINIONS
Commuter rail part of solution
"Atlanta is one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas and, not surprisingly, has some of its worst traffic congestion. While upgrading the region's roadways to accommodate more cars and trucks is necessary, alternative transportation such as commuter rail must also be part of a comprehensive solution. But efforts to launch commuter rail service have long been stymied by backward-thinking public officials who claim it will be a waste of money and would attract few passengers. That lame argument has been refuted by the success of commuter rail service in other large cities across the country and around the world." Read more...

July 2, 2007, Comments sent online to the Stop I-3 Coalition
Many reasons, one message: "Leave Our Mountains Alone!"
My husband and I have not one, but two houses along the proposed (original) I-3 route. Either or both homes, along with our retirement, would be ruined by putting an interstate highway through. But not knowing is almost worse - should we go ahead and improve our homes? Not if this monster is going ahead! Can we sell and buy somewhere it won't be - not until the route is final and by then we'd be selling at a huge loss. Read more...

1/12/07, The Northeast Georgian
Highway 17 is a treasure and should be preserved
Last week I had an awesome "only in Georgia" experience - but one that is threatened with oblivion if certain politicians have their way. I drove almost 300 miles along Georgia Highway 17, from my hometown of Sautee-Nacoochee to Savannah. Read more...

11/20/06, Metro Pulse (Knoxville)
North Shore Road, I-3 are “Nowhere”
Rep. Shuler and the new Congress should erect the signs
"The best thing about Heath Shuler’s election to Congress is not that he was a cover-boy quarterback at UT, and certainly not that he lines up with the Blue Dog Democrats and their social conservatism. The best thing about Shuler’s whipping Charlie Taylor, that bumbling, corrupt eight-term congressman in North Carolina’s 11th District is that we won’t have the North Shore Road to combat any more." Read more...

10/11/06, Cherokee Sentinel
Interstate 3: Not dead yet
"It has been just over a year since the public information forum at Tri- County Community College alerted our local citizens to the proposal to build an interstate highway through the mountains of Western North Carolina which was advanced in the highway bill signed into law on August 10, 2005." Read more...

1/26/06 - The White County News•Telegraph
Billy Jenkins' I-3 route? Horrible

Dr. Billy Jenkins' suggested routing of I-3 (“Interstate 3 and other roads I've known,” page 6A, Jan. 19 News•Telegraph) is the worst possible thing that could happen to White County's future. It would route “The Charlie Norwood Expressway” right through the heart of some of the most beautiful and scenic parts of the county. With the hard work of the multi state effort now under way, we CAN defeat Charlie's road! I only wish somebody would defeat Norwood this fall. Read more...

1/26/06 - The White County News•Telegraph
I-3 is all about ... Chinese imports?

I was disappointed in Dr. Billy Jenkins' novelette in last week's paper ("Interstate 3 and other roads I've known," White County News•Telegraph, Jan. 19, 2006). In writing, quantity will never be an acceptable substitute for quality. He nostalgically mentioned Hwy. 129 from back in the ‘60's, but didn't mention the hundreds of citizens from White, Rabun and Towns counties that fought to keep the Appalachian Highway Corridor out of this area in the same decade. That unfinished highway is known today as Ga. 400. It was proven to be too devastating to the environment to build a road of that magnitude in this area. Read more...

1/26/06 - The White County News•Telegraph
Protests might alter I-3 route

Several of the observations from Billy Jenkins' interesting history of roads (“Interstate 3 and other roads I've known,” page 6A, Jan. 19 News•Telegraph) were thought provoking. While it may be that I-3 is a done deal as to construction, location is still very much, at this point, open to challenge. Read more...

12/20/05 - Athens Banner-Herald
Letters to the Editor
Andrew Hunt: Proposed Interstate 3 would hinder growth
The Athens Banner-Herald (Editorial, "I-3 opponents too late to fight for mountains," 12/19) missed the big picture regarding the impact of the proposed Interstate 3. North Georgia has changed in the past decades, but that doesn't mean it is without a sense of place. The landscape of the region - both small-town life and the mountains themselves - would be permanently altered by the massively expensive highway project. Read more...

10/17/05 - The Times (Gainesville, GA)
Rebuild for the residents, not political pork, profits

Katrina brought not one but three disasters: the storms, the mishandled response, and now the reconstruction. At last, money is flowing for rebuilding, maybe as much as $100 billion (on our national credit card) but who will be getting it? Not the people who need the jobs and can do the heavy work, but the big guys, Halliburton, Bechtel and friends who can swing no-bid contracts. The workers have to take a pay cut because our president decreed that the prevailing local wage was too generous. That's $9 an hour in New Orleans, $7 in Alabama and Mississippi for construction. Read more...

10/16/05
Interstate-3: The Impact on Our Neotropical Migratory Birds

There is a registered decline of more than 100 of our Neotropical migrant species population. Much of this decline is habitat loss and fragmentation in breeding grounds. Interstate-3 through any part of our area would greatly increase this population decline of many of our woodland songbirds. Read more...

10/8/05 - White County News•Telegraph
Spend some of gas tax money on economically viable projects

After reading Mr. Turpin's letter on the proposed prosperity of Interstate 3, I will have to agree with him that his dimension of thought is skewed. At first I thought that perhaps he had either not seen the statistical data on interstate highways or that he is on ”the payroll.“ A third explanation could be that since the U.S. Congress and the Federal Highway Administration has said that interstate highways don't guarantee economic prosperity, and more often than not have a negative effect on smaller communities (cities under 25,000 people), that he is an ultra-liberal and speaks out against everything that the government says. Read more...

10/8/05 - White County News•Telegraph
Do interstates really bring new business?

In answer to the letter about Interstate 3 and prosperity for White County, I would suggest doing some research about interstates and development. Just in the state of Georgia are many examples of roads that have not increased the development of the access areas and in many cases has been detrimental to the area. Read more...

10/8/05 - White County News•Telegraph
Save mountains for future generations to enjoy

In response to Mr. Jack Turpin's letter calling for the building of Interstate 3 (Sept. 29), I totally disagree. Mr. Turpin, you write clearly and very well. I see your point. I strongly disagree with you, and I, too, may never be around to see the thing built - I am 63 years old. It is so critical for you and everyone else to see that this is not about us. This is about the health and goodness of these beautiful mountains. Read more...

10/4/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Use I-3 money to help Gulf Coast

Let me be the first to suggest sacrificing the funds for I-3 and rerouting them to our neighbors to the south, who need and want their infrastructure restored. Read more...

9/29/05 -The Towns County Sentinel, Rabun County, GA
Letter to the Editor from Charles Kraus

During the May Forum on Interstate 3 sponsored by the Towns County Homeowners Association, I spent some time standing in the back talking with some of the employees of the Georgia Mountain Fair. They complained that holding the forum during the day made it impossible for many citizens who worked to attend. I told them that we would take notice of this and that we were planning another forum in July which we would plan to hold in the evening. This second form has not happened and we need to explain why. Read more...

9/16/05 -The Northeast Georgian
Who wants proposed interstate and why?

I have many concerns about the proposed interstate through our mountains of Northeast Georgia. The main question that has not been answered is this: "Who wants this interstate and why?" Read more...

9/7/05 - White County News-Telegraph
Reasons for interstate are not justified

As a citizen of Habersham County I have many concerns about the proposed interstate through our mountains of Northeast Georgia. The main question that has not yet been answered is this: "Who wants this interstate and why?"

We have been told that it will help alleviate traffic around Atlanta. However, won't the planned second bypass around Atlanta help alleviate the problems there? Why not improve existing roads rather than tear up and pollute the beautiful mountains of Northeast Georgia? Read more...

9/5/05 - The Times (Gainesville, GA)
Do not shift nuclear transit to other highways

We agree with your suggestion in the Aug. 28 editorial, "I-3 should not be built just to carry nuclear materials," that the nuclear highway proposed from Savannah to Knoxville via Augusta is not worth the costs. Nor does it produce the benefits touted by its proponents.

However, The Times appears to have fallen into an emotional trap when it simultaneously suggested that a much-widened U.S. 441 through Athens and Rabun County on its way to Interstate 20 and thence to Augusta and Savannah might help alleviate traffic congestion in and around Atlanta. Not even the backers of I-3 suggest it should be viewed as a possible solution to Atlanta traffic gridlock. Read more...

8/22/05 - Letter to the Stop I-3 Coalition
Biker Outraged

Someone is totally out of touch and probably has never been to this glorious region. They need to get a stiff boot up the ***, get tarred and feathered and run out on a rail. I volunteer to personally provide the boot service. Let's vote these stupid moronic knuckleheads out of office NOW and do whatever it takes to stop even the suggestion that this would be a good idea for anybody. I cannot believe the stupidity of someone wanting to ruin this magnificent sanctuary. Read more...

7/5/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Pull together to defeat I-3

With regards to I-3, I was real pleased that our commissioners took an official stand against I-3. Our county is still somewhat rural and somewhat peaceful. I pray to God that we can avoid the disaster of an interstate, that would bring urban sprawl, traffic jams, smog, and crime like a tidal wave. Read more...

6/24/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Opinion
Use I-3 money to address safety

Georgia's federal elected officials have proposed construction of two new interstates here - one running east to west and the other - I-3 - to run from Savannah to Knoxville, Tenn. The proposed I-3 tentatively would follow the current route of Highway 17, passing through Toccoa, Clarkesville, Helen and Hiawassee. So far, the proposal is unpopular with citizens and the Habersham County Commission - which voted Monday to formally oppose the interstate highway. What our legislators should be considering is that there is a better and higher use for the money they want to spend to construct I-3 - making Highway 365 and Highway 316 safer by limiting access.Read more...

6/24/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Interstate will increase pollution and traffic

I just read the editorial by Jenée Wilde concerning the possibility of an interstate along Route 17. This is a very upsetting matter. I have been looking to buy a house in the Clarkesville area. Why? To get away from the traffic, noise, pollution and on-going building of unsightly subdivisions. Read more...

6/23/05 - White County News - Telegraph
Letter to the editor

I’m writing to urge to eliminate the funding for the study of Interstate 3 as proposed by H.R. 3, TEA-LU. The suggested routing through northeast Georgia is incomprehensible. Mountains, mountain communities and expressways are not a good mix – environmentally, economically and esthetically. Read more..

6/10/05 -The Northeast Georgian
I-3: Just say 'no'

Reactions have been consistent from people I've spoken with about the federal government's proposal to build an interstate freeway along Highway 17: First they're shocked, then they're dismayed.

While officials in Georgia's economically-depressed flatlands may thrill at the prospect of commerce and jobs brought by a freeway route, I shudder at the thought of our quiet mountain lifestyle destroyed. Read more...

6/10/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Don't let interstate rip through county

I am saddened to think that we will sit by and let another interstate rip through our communities. If you have traveled to Clayton recently you will observe workers tearing down the mountains on one side of the road to use as fill on the other side. It is a huge mess that is not only unsightly but is rapidly filling up the lakes and streams with mud. Now the folks coming to see the leaves in the fall can move along faster. The landscape has changed forever. Read more...

6/10/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Interstate 3 is unneeded, unwanted

I am writing in response to Representative [Charlie] Norwood's proposed new Interstate 3.
This idea represents classic 20th century thinking. Unfortunately, we are now in the 21st century and are in desperate need of leadership and ideas that are in-step with this new century. Read more...

6/7/05 - The Northeast Georgian
Why spoil a good thing?

I read with interest of the 50/50 approval and disapproval of the citizens of Clarkesville regarding the proposed Interstate 3 through your county. We recently met to discuss the proposed highway here in Towns County and almost no one wanted this highway running through here. Read more..

Citizens Speak Letters-to-the-Editor and Editorial Opinions from the Regional and National Press and individuals' letters to the Stop I-3 Coalition

From Paul Broun, US Representaive, 10th District, GA: A letter to let you know where I stand

Citizens Speak
Letters-to-the-Editor and Editorial Opinions from the Regional and National Press
and individuals' letters to the Stop I-3 Coalition

From Paul Broun, US Representaive, 10th District, GA:
A letter to let you know where I stand