Comment EI-20777
Received or sent (printed as 12/17/2014)
The proposed railroad will destroy the habitability of these environmentally sensitive lands (wetlands, marshes, breeding estuaries, etc.). There are 125 listed species of plants and animals on Merritt Island where the proposed railroad is to be built. (see http://www.nbbd.com/godo/minwr/ListedSpecies.html for details) . A total of 94 species that presently occur on the refuge have a Federal or State designation (i.e., T, E, BCC, SSC, or C). Of these species 50 are listed as State or Federal Threatened or Endangered plants and animals (22 animals and 28 plants) and 5 are plants that are listed by the State as Commercially Exploited". There are 22 additional plant species that have special designations (i.e., R, FNAI, FCREPA - listed by Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals ). Some plant species may have both a State and special designation. The Environmental Impact Study (EIS) needs to address each of these 125 species, establish a population of each, describe the anticipated effect of the loss of habitat, and proposed mitigation for each detrimental impact. The railroad must not damage habitat of any Endangered (E), Threatened (T), Species of Special Concern (SSC), Birds of Conservation Concern (BCC), Rare (R ), species is listed by Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), and species is listed by Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals (FCREPA). The railroad must be routed around any affected species with the above designations or if impossible all affected species must be removed and relocated to a suitable area. Develop an Environmental Monitoring Program that continuously monitors all waterways, ground water, air quality, and sentinel wildlife species for any and all chemical contamination. Annual and Quarterly Environmental Reports must be prepared for and evaluated by the EPA for every year of operation until the facilities are dismantled and the site is returned to the original undisturbed condition. Mitigation procedures must be developed for all accidents and possible chemical contamination events. The populations of all species listed with the above designations above must be monitored and reported to the EPA. If any of these species suffer decline, the railroad must be shutdown until the species recovers. The Railroad needs to restore an equivalent 10 times the area disrupted by the railroad. Unrestricted development has destroyed thousands of environmentally sensitive lands in the past and placed the Indian River Lagoon in a threatened state. Many species have become extinct around the Indian River Lagoon. Oysters and clams have been eliminated. Crabs have almost been eliminated and fishing has been greatly diminished due to unrestricted development. It is time to make Developers repair the damage and improve the area damaged by requiring an area equivalent to 10 times the area disrupted to be restored by the Developer."
Submitted by: William R. Klein
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-35852/comment/EI-20777 · back to the docket sheet