Comment EI-19856
Received or sent (printed as 1/11/2013)
The environmental impact statement for the proposed Tongue River Railroad - analyze the following: This proposed railroad is not for the “public convenience and necessity” which is what is required in order for a body to get the power of eminent domain and condemnation authority. This railroad would serve for the profit only of Arch Coal, who plans to sell coal to China and Asia who will use this coal to compete with the U.S. to produce products more cheaply. No residents of the Tongue River will benefit in any way from this. There are many negatives to this proposed project that greatly impact the residents of this area. Please investigate the impacts to the following: Impacts on property values: loss of property value and infringement on property rights. This railroad will cause devaluation of property (especially riverfront property), will cause ranches and farms to be split in half making portions unusable, liability of train crossings will be left to the landowner. Impacts to Wildlife: The Tongue River Valley is rich in wildlife and home to elk and mule deer populations as well as birds. Industrializing this valley with a railroad and the coal strip mine it serves will seriously degrade this excellent sportsman resource. Impacts on Flooding: The railroad bed will act as an earthen dam and potentially worsen the flooding problems now experienced in Miles City in the winter with ice jams. Noise Impacts: The loud trains will ruin the quiet enjoyment of nearby recreation areas near Miles City. Noise also impacts health with disrupted sleep. Impacts on Infrastructure and traffic: Taxes will go up for residents communities along the rail lines as the coal heads to coastal ports for shipment. This railroad will increase coal train traffic substantially causing traffic delays, noise, and diesel pollution. There are health issues involved with diesel fumes for people with asthma or emphysema. The only way to live with this increased traffic will require expensive over passes and safety crossing which are paid for primarily by local taxpayers. National & Global Impacts: The Tongue River Railroad will allow coal that should stay in the ground to be burned in dirty Chinese plants and will fuel intolerable, decades-long increases in Carbon Dioxide emissions. The greenhouse gas costs of Otter Creek coal go far beyond just burning the coal. It must be mined, hauled by trains fueled by diesel to West Coast terminals, shipped overseas by ships fueled by diesel, and then hauled in China to the plants.
Submitted by: Marsha Riek · Bellingham, Washington
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-30186/comment/EI-19856 · back to the docket sheet