Comment EI-20783
Received or sent (printed as 12/18/2014)
I have been a resident of Merritt Island since 1979 and have lived in several residences in the are. I did NOT choose to purchase a home adjacent to an airport, railroad or I95 as the noise generated by these features was not desirable. I did choose to purchase a home adjacent to a Wildlife Refuge" as the protection from encroaching development and associated nuisance was a desirable feature. The plan for Port Canaveral to build a railroad approximately 1000 feet from our homes across the lagoon and through the wildlife refuge in North Merritt Island is an intrusion and environmental impact of extreme proportions. The port has stated the goal is to grow the cargo traffic 20 fold from the beginning of operations of 2 to 3 trains a week. That is 40 to 60 trains a week, an incredible impact to the quality of life on North Merritt Island. Now apparently "quality of life" is not a concern for the Port or the STB which is in my opinion irresponsible and a blatant disregard for the residents and impact on our property values. It would appear the greed of the Port in bringing in cargo business supercedes the impact on it's neighbors. The environmental concerns have been far better articulated by others more qualified to speak to these concerns but the impact to the lagoon and the wildlife refuge is catastrophic. Brevard county has spent millions of our tax dollars buying environmentally sensitive lands to protect them from development, residents follow numerous laws to protect the lagoon and yet, the Port is attempting to violate these protections and in essence saying: not us, we will file for permission to destroy what we need to for the Port's economic gain, we don't care about the impact. This is blatant greed, not a boon to the area, very few jobs will be gained in spite of their claims. In addition, there is the concern of security over thousands of uninspected cargo containers going through the lagoon and wildlife refuge as well as through the heart of the Kennedy Space Center within a few hundred feet of critical spaceflight hardware processing areas, and personnel office buildings. Only a small fraction of containers are ever inspected. Also, a potential exists for extreme environmental damage and human injury in the event of a train accident and spillage of hazardous cargo. Most Ports of this type in Florida are located far away from residential areas. Port Canaveral is trying to fit a Jacksonville size port in a Mayberry size town. It is apparent that alternatives to this plan have not been studied. A rail line along the SR528 corridor, already a busy traffic highway would appear to have far less environmental impact and actually less costly. Yes, there are homes along this route, but they are already in an existing high noise environment. Bottom line: The greed of the Port should not be allowed to trample the environment,wildlife, quality of life and the property values of hundreds of homeowners along this route. Would they be allowed to build a railroad through Yosemite, the Grand Canyon of any other significant protected lands? Of course not and this is no different. Protected is protected and must be enforced. This is a dangerous precedent if approve. Thank you."
Submitted by: Matthew J Hofmann
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-20783 · back to the docket sheet