Comment EI-22896
Received or sent (printed as 5/19/2016)
[Bonfield] Dear Dave Navecky, As a resident and landowner in Illinois, I oppose and object to the construction of the rail line proposed by Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc. (GLBT") , recognized as docket # FD 35952, consisting of a rail line of approximately 278 miles in length, from La Porte, Indiana, through the State of Illinois, to a point in the Town of Lima in Rock County, Wisconsin. I urge and request the STB pursue the "no-action alternative" of denying the petition or application of GLBT due to the negative environmental impact the rail line would have on me and all citizens that own property and/or reside near the proposed path of the rail line. The claimed (but unproven and unspecified) efficiencies possibly gained from the rail line are far outweighed by the loss of prime farmland, impact on the safety of local residents, and significant changes to the local environment and landscape. Our community is still recovering from a Shell gasoline pipeline leak which contaminated drinking water and caused significant health problems for local residents nearly 28 years ago. We wholeheartedly reject allowing transportation of hazardous materials via the proposed new railway through our community, especially since doing so would be solely for profit and NOT to contribute to the public good. Eminent domain does NOT apply here. I request and call upon the STB to ensure the scope of the Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") associated with the project be as broad and stringent at possible, and include investigation of and weighing the relative impact of the proposed rail line's claimed economic efficiencies against the enormous tangible and intangible costs that would be imposed on residents and owners of property that fall on or near the path of the rail line. I further request and call upon the STB to deny any exemption from GLBT filing a formal application to ensure additional public comment is allowed prior to any approval of rail line construction. Thank you for your attention to my concern. Karen McGregor"
Submitted by: Karen McGregor
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-22896 · back to the docket sheet