Comment EI-1110
Received or sent (printed as 12/5/2004)
I am the son-in-law of one of the land owners of the proposed quarry site. I wanted to thank the STB and its SEA for letting me speak at the recent public meeting in Hondo. I thought the DEIS was well written and addressed all concerns brought up by the opposition and spelled out mitigants for any findings. The opposition continues to make emotion filled statements full of scare tactics. I'm sure that common sense will prevail when the final EIS is sent to be approved. At the meeting the other night, you would have thought that Quihi is a swamp, the way people were talking and then one gentleman said it was a desert. I guess they are covering all their bases. They are worried about flooding. My father-in-law's place had 5.5 inches of rain the other day on already wet ground and my son and I had no problem going hunting and did not have to drive through any high water. If these people are building their homes in creeks and areas prone to high water, then that should say something about common sense. The opposition also brought up negative facts about Vulcan from other parts of the country. As with any large company, there will be incidents happen. But they would not continue to be a Fortune 500 company if there were major problems. I grew up in Hondo where the railway goes right through town. Our house was 1/4 of a mile from the track. Trains come through every hour. I did not loose any sleep nor did our house fall to pieces. As you saw on your way to the Fair Hall, there are a number of historic buildings in downtown Hondo that are a within feet of the railway. These building have sustained no damage from vibration. Hondo has continued to survive with the trains. These trains come through at a lot faster speed than the proposed trains will be moving from the quarry. The opposition acts like the county roads which will be passed are interstate highways and there will be major traffic jams. Look at all the millions of miles of railways all over the U.S., which cross major thoroughfares and highways with no problems. This is only a 7 mile track and will have no adverse impact on the environment, historic buildings, flooding, noise, or traffic. Please don't let the emotion filled scare tactics made by the opposition influence the final EIS. This project would be a great economic boost to the county and school district. Thank You.
Submitted by: Craig Heiligman · Castroville, Texas
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-34284/comment/EI-1110
File docketyard.org/document/bc0fd0e8ceb2d25b7aa142a986cbf2ef1b89f3484bb51bf7ed4d8ca7c1b5fe33.pdf · back to the docket sheet