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| Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) South Central Region - PO Box 12560 -Yakima, WA 98909-2560 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 2005 Contacts: State, Federal and Tribal leaders agree to coordinate highway projects as four laning US 12 progresses. YAKIMA - On Thursday, March 10, an historic agreement was signed by Dan Mathis of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) -Washington Division, Don Whitehouse of the Washington State Department Of Transportation (WSDOT) - South Central Region (SCR), and Antone Minthorn of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). The document is the first Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement in the State of Washington between Federal, State and Tribal Governments. At the Tribal Headquarters in Pendleton, Oregon, Colleen Jollie, WSDOT Tribal Liaison said, "The agreement is the first of many that are planned between the transportation agencies and tribes. It is a model for six other similar agreements among the agencies and tribes in Washington State." All three government offices have been working together to develop the agreement for several years. "I am very happy to see this day finally arrive; we have all worked hard to get here," Jollie said. The agreement states: "...respectful of each other's legitimate values and goals, the FHWA, the WSDOT SCR, and the CTUIR agree to establish and maintain a relationship based on open dialog, mutual respect, and early coordination. The overall purpose of this agreement is to create a consultation process that allows for the opportunity for tribal input on actions by the FHWA and WSDOT SCR ... and to cooperatively work together to implement the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and other issues of mutual concern. The goal of this dialog is to allow the lead agencies to use this input to identify impacts to the social, cultural, natural, and economic environments and seek opportunities to avoid and minimize those impacts, or to preserve or enhance the resource when possible prior to undertaking an action..." At the signing ceremony on Thursday, Antone Minthorn, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the CTUIR, and Don Whitehouse, Regional Administrator for WSDOT, made the commitment to an open communication process that maintains the spirit of this agreement and that of Government-to-Government consultation. "Communication, coordination, and education through information sharing will be key in implementing this programmatic agreement;" Whitehouse said. John Barkley, Chairman of the CTUIR General Council and President of the Northwest Tribal Employment Rights Organization (TERO), also commended the group for recognizing the importance of transportation projects to economic development and employment opportunities for tribal members and tribally owned businesses. The US 12- Wallula to Walla Walla Planning Study is in the process of investigating and documenting existing social, economic and environmental conditions, and will determine the preferred alignment of US 12 from the Wallula junction to Walla Walla. Area economic development is hindered by lack of access to a high-quality four-lane highway. In addition, future traffic volumes warrant addressing congestion and safety concerns. Located in southern Walla Walla county, US 12 links the cities of Walla Walla and College Place and the Port of Walla Walla with the state of Oregon, the Tri-Cities area, and the rest of Washington. The 2003 Transportation Budget funds improvements for US 12 from Tri-Cities to Wallula. This study is an important step in continuing the four-lane improvement to Walla Walla. To read more about this project visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/US12PlanningStudy/ Mike Westbay 509-577-1617 westbam@wsdot.wa.gov
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