Comment EI-21783
Received or sent (printed as 4/4/2016)
April 4, 2016 To Whom It May Concern: I have lived in my current residence, 463 South County Line Rd., Hebron, Indiana for almost 30 years. I own and operate Stoney Run Kennels, Inc. at this same location. We are beginning our 28th year in business and I have a staff of 8 local residents plus my daughter and myself who depend on their jobs at my facility. My clients come from near and far because they like the quiet atmosphere we offer their pets. The sounds of the train horns, lights and bells dinging, the steel wheels on the metal tracks and the vibrations will be a detriment to my business. The constant 24 hours-per-day NOISE is not part of the peaceful countryside. The pets will be awakened by the horns and bells, and they will feel the vibrations as the trains roar through. My clientele treat their pets like their children. Humans don’t appreciate staying in a nice resort with rail road tracks nearby and trains barreling through all day and night. I am sure my clients will not appreciate that atmosphere for their pets either. Another concern I have is that the proposed area where the tracks will cross Lake/Porter County Line Rd. is an area that is prone to severe flooding during heavy rains. At times the water is too high for low riding cars to pass through. There are several non-regulated ‘ditches’ which meander through that area on both sides of County Line Rd. at the very same location that has been suggested for the rail line. This entire area has many drainage tiles that the Army Corp of Engineers laid many years ago to drain the farm fields so that they could be used for farming. It is part of the Kankakee River watershed. These tiles may be old but many are still functioning deep beneath the topsoil. These tiles carry the field drainage south to the Kankakee River. Local farmers repair breaks in these tiles or replace failed sections in order to continue successfully farming these otherwise wet areas. The weight of the trains and tracks will surely damage these underground tiles if the construction of the tracks doesn’t do it first. I have been working for almost 30 years with Lake and Porter County officials for help with flooding issues all along County Line Rd from my residence/business south to the unregulated meandering ‘ditch’. Highway superintendents have always told me that all our water from the ditches bordering my property travels south to this very same area where GLBT has suggested placing their tracks. I have video of the terrible flooding that occurs in this area. I gave a copy of this video to the Porter County drainage board several years ago when they were collecting data on flood prone areas. I took my former County Commissioner, Carol Knoblock for a drive-by tour to witness first hand the extent of this flooding. Even the town of Hebron has flood control issues in this same area. I cannot believe that such a wet area could support the trains when they are carrying full, heavy, potentially TOXIC loads. And if GLBT is given permission to use this route, then where will all that water go?? It backs up 2 miles north as it is now and spills out of the ditches at the intersection of County Line Rd. and 137th Ave/450 South. Officials in both Lake and Porter County are well aware of our water woes along this stretch of the road. GLBT has not done their research in this area. In February at a meeting in Illinois when it was suggested that environmental studies would be necessary if the route passed through wet lands, Mr. Patton’s response was that “…those studies would be prohibitively time-consuming.” So he moved the route! He is ‘rail roading’ individuals and groups that stand in his way! Any route which carries toxic products deserves careful evaluation along with environmental studies. At the very least this project should be relocated south of the river so as to avoid the potential for disaster should a toxic spill occur. I noticed that GLBT’s proposed route doesn’t cross the Kankakee River at any point in Indiana. Is this perhaps because of the toxic loads this rail line will carry? Or is it too expensive to build a safe enough bridge for the type of cargo that Mr. Patton and his group plan to allow on these tracks? This area near me is very small when compared to the entire route, perhaps 10 miles or so. But it is this section of the rail road that is the closest to the Kankakee River. This river is really nothing more than a huge, man-made ‘farm ditch’, the purpose of which is to drain the surrounding fields so farmers can work the fields and maximize their yields. And if the soggy land doesn’t support the weight of the train and just one rail car full of toxins spills into our water table, what would we do then?? How do I evacuate 38 dogs or more plus my own pets? Where would we go? How would I provide water for that many pets plus my own and my family? I gave up my career to stay home and raise my children. My hobby became my business. It is also my retirement money. It isn’t much, but this rail line will not only destroy my business, it will devaluate my property to the point that it may even be difficult to sell. I will have to find work when I should have been able to retire comfortably. Please do not allow this project to move forward. Thank you in advance for any assistance you may offer. Sincerely~ Lisa Jenns Stoney Run Kennels, Inc. 463 South 800 West Hebron, IN 46341 219-242-2493
Submitted by: Lisa Jenns · Hebron, IN
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-35952/comment/EI-21783 · back to the docket sheet