January 16, 2002
In today's Johnson County Sun, there is a brief article based on an interview Rob Roberts had with Douglas Berka, Corps of Engineers. In it, Mr. Berka says that it sounds like the new regulations issued by the Bush administration will eliminate the requirement for either an Individual or Nationwide Permit.
If this were true, the only remaining impediment to Wal-Mart building would be the City of Overland Park requiring protections for the downstream homes, such as retention ponds, that would prevent Wal-Mart from building. Given the City's desire to see Wal-Mart go in and its past handling of the flooding problems caused by developers as told by numerous downstream readers, this seems unlikely. However, if it were possible to mitigate adverse effects for downstream homes and still allow Wal-Mart in, perhaps Overland Park would take appropriate action to protect its citizens.
|