Comment EI-4996
Received or sent (printed as 2/9/2008)
Regarding the proposed acquisition of the EJ&E Railway by Canadian National Railway, and scope of study for the Environmental Impact Review thereof, I offer the following comments for your consideration: I have lived in Barrington for ten years. In that time, the EJ&E railroad has rarely seen more than 3-5 trains per day. For the past year the volume appears to be about 3 per day. The proposed acquisition projects 20 trains per day in the short term, but I would ask you to give great consideration to the Village of Barrington's and other community groups' request to extend the scope of study from the current three years to ten. These groups have compelling evidence - including public information from CN itself - that the traffic on the EJ&E will increase dramatically beyond the 20 trains they project in their application during the next 3 years, and that the decrease in traffic on the Chicago based lines will only be temporary as well. I believe that limiting the scope of the survey to three years will dramatically underestimate the true environmental impact on our communities in the next several years, and would urge the STB to extend the survey to a full 10 year impact study. My family lives approximately 0.5 miles north of the EJ&E line, and approximately 1.5 miles north of the Barrington Public Safety facility (police & fire) which is on the opposite side of the EJ&E line. In May 2002, a fire broke out in our kitchen. It took only about 10 minutes for my family to evacuate the house, reach a neighbor's, call 911 and have the fire department reach us and put the fire out. This was due to the close proximity of the Public Safety facility and excellent response time of the officials. Even so, the damage was extensive as the kitchen was destroyed, and every room in our home had suffered severe smoke damage. Thankfully, no lives (human or pets) were lost, and the damage to our personal belongings (outside of the kitchen itself) were limited. According to the firemen on scene at the time, had it taken only an additional 10 minutes for the firemen to arrive, we might have suffered exponentially greater losses or even total loss of our home. The 10 minutes is the difference in fact, of having to wait for one freight train to clear the road or not. Our community's hospital - Advocate Good Shepherd is also north of the tracks and on the opposite side of the Public Safety facility. Similarly, the impact of a 10 minute delay in an ambulance reaching a victim, or in getting that victim to the hospital can mean the difference between life and death. Barrington is unique in that EJ&E crosses main arteries through the village in very short intervals. Therefore, if a public safety vehicle is prevented from crossing the tracks at any one point, the alternative routes around the tracks & train are very limited and distant. A brand new public park was partially opened in 2007 and will be fully opened in 2008. This park directly abuts the EJ&E line for much of its length. Further, one of the two main roads into the park has a crossing of the EJ&E on Lake Zurich Road. The new park is designed for heavy usage by citizens for sporting events, performances, walking & biking trails, family events & outings, etc, and will no doubt attract large numbers of citizens from Barrington and surrounding communities, creating a dangerous mix of population and freight trains. Further, northern access by many neighborhoods by both cars and pedestrians is across the EJ&E at the Lake Zurich Rd crossing. This flow across and the activities adjacent to the tracks create very hazardous safety conditions with 20 or more trains per day moving through. CN has stated publicly that they will use this transaction to strengthen business relationships with the petrochemical industry". I would ask that the STB also give strong consideration to the types of cargo these trains will be carrying. In particular, hazardous chemicals or other poisonous substances that may be present create a potential spill hazard that should be unacceptable for community the size of greater Barrington and for the village's own proximity to the EJ&E lines. In addition to the potential for direct contact with humans, hazardous substance spills will threaten our groundwater as Barrington's public water supply is derived from well water and any contamination from a train hazardous substance spill could render our community's drinking water unusable for many years to come. The Cuba Marsh is one of the most diverse Forest Preserves in Illinois, containing a striking breadth of wildlife and environments, from low wetlands to grasslands to forests. Great effort and progress has been made over recent years and as an example recent restoration of its woodlands have helped promote the return of the Bluebird and Baltimore Oriole to the Cuba Marsh. The Preserve hosts a large and growing number and diversity of animal and plant species. The EJ&E line cuts directly through this Preserve for it's full length. At a few trains per day, the environmental impact on the wildlife is minimal. However, with an increase of 20 trains per day or more, a full survey of the environmental impact on the Preserve is necessary to ensure that progress in restoring the number and diversity of species is not reversed. In summary, I would ask the STB to perform a detailed and comprehensive study of all of the safety and environmental issues mentioned above. I further ask that the STB employ a full survey that also uses a longer forecast duration to ensure that realistic traffic projections are used in assessing these risks. Thank you for your consideration of my comments. If I can be of any further assistance in this matter please do not hesitate to contact me as provided above. Sincerely William A. Chapdelaine 713 Bent Ridge Lane Barrington, IL 60010"
Submitted by: William Chapdelaine
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-35087/comment/EI-4996 · back to the docket sheet