Opponents of the proposed Orange County Foothill-South (241) toll road for the last several weeks have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to argue their case before a federal panel at a July 25 public hearing at U.C. Irvine. Unfortunately, now that hearing is up in the air, and it's not even certain that it will ever take place.

The federal panel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be making a recommendation to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on an appeal filed by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which seeks to overturn a February decision by the California Coastal Commission that the proposed toll road is inconsistent with the California Coastal Act.

Audubon California and other toll road opponents recently learned that the NOAA panel is considering canceling or rescheduling the July 25 hearing out of fear that more than 10,000 people would show up, well beyond the capacity of U.C. Irvine’s Bren Center. At this point, no one knows if the hearing will go as planned, or if it will rescheduled or cancelled outright.

Although there have been calls in the media for NOAA to make a decision about the hearing, there still hasn't been any word. When Audubon California finds out, we’ll let you know, because we’re hoping that you’ll get an opportunity to let this panel know that you support the Coastal Commission’s decision because the toll road’s potential impacts to birds, other wildlife, and important habitat are unacceptable.

Audubon California has a great deal more information about the toll road on its website. And while the hearing is up in the air, NOAA has made it clear that it will be accepting written and emailed comments beginning July 21. On that date, we’ll send an Action Alert to our network that will allow subscribers to simply click-through an email letter in their name. We’ll also have a link up here for any others that want to make themselves heard.