Comment EI-22373
Received or sent (printed as 5/1/2016)
I would like to address the economic impact of the proposed rail project to Rock County. The Rock County UW Extension Office has calculated lost crop production revenue at $438,000 and a loss to Agriculture related businesses i.e. (feed, fertilizer, herbicide, Seed, agronomy services, and financial support) of $170,000. That is a total of $608,000 taken out of the local economy on an annual basis based on current USDA Ag Statistics. Great Lakes Basin claims on their website that 500 to 600 permanent jobs will be created by this project. Where will these jobs be created? I doubt any of those jobs will be in Rock County. When trying to gain approval for a project from local, state or federal authorities, corporations commonly project potential job creation. Numbers that often never materialize. It has been reported that Frank Patton claims this project will take 1 million trucks off the highway reducing traffic congestion. Trucks need drivers; therefore, we will lose 1 million truck driving jobs. I believe this project to have a negative economic impact to our local Agriculture economy. I'm requesting the Surface Transportation Board study the economic impact to each Village, Township, Town and County that this project passes through or near.
Submitted by: Brad Mair · Janesville, Wisconsin
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-22373 · back to the docket sheet