Comment EI-21962
Received or sent (printed as 4/11/2016)
As a resident of Boone County, Illinois, I am writing to advise you of my position regarding the Great Lakes Basin Rail Project. I believe that this project, as it is envisioned, will not only not deliver the benefit that it claims to offer, but will in fact, impose catastrophic hardship and inconvenience upon the territories wherein it would be located. I have a home and 38 acres of farmland just west of Capron. Although the proposed route for this rail line would be west of my land, if it is built, there could still be considerable negative impact on me. I rely on the rental of my farmland for my retirement income and the value of that land depends primarily upon it's quality and accessibility. It is very likely that such a project would negatively impact drainage patterns and it would most certainly make it more difficult for the agricultural equipment to be transported from surrounding areas. Such things could negatively impact me in a manner that would be extremely difficult to quantify. I have additional concerns regarding the potential for an adverse affect on our local aquifer. So much of this area is rural and all of us outside the villages depend upon it for water from our wells. Any spillage of toxins or chemicals could compromise its safety and accordingly our ability to remain here at all, much less farm the land. The fact that no major rail line has expressed any interest whatsoever in this project would seem to indicate that the investors behind this proposal have not performed due diligence regarding its actual desirability. I'd suggest that even if there is an efficiency issue which requires some solution, there has been no objective determination that this is the one that should be selected in lieu of others being considered by the rail lines themselves. I encourage the board to require a full review of the GLB project and not grant any exemption from that even if it is requested. I believe that thorough scrutiny will reveal this proposal to be what it truly is, a device of financial opportunism designed to benefit no one but its financiers, while disrupting the environment and the local economy with enormous potential negative impacts upon life styles, land values, and income strains.
Submitted by: Sue Anne Park · Capron, IL
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-21962 · back to the docket sheet