Comment EI-23451
Received or sent (printed as 6/6/2016)
I believe that the GLB Railroad would be a significant environmental detriment to Kankakee County and the other counties it would be built in. The fact that the GLB wants to have a rail line go straight through the Kankakee State Park only demonstrates their complete lack of concern over the environment. The Kankakee State Park is one of the very best parts of the county and having up to 110 trains going through it every day would certainly crumble a crown jewel in this community. The rail line would certainly damage the wildlife that calls the Kankakee State Park home. Furthermore, their plan to would not only damage farmland they take over, but also surrounding farmland and waterways. Farmers have spent years cultivating their land with care to fight against erosion and drainage problems. The proposed plan by the GLB would undo years of work and create environmental issues by significantly altering the landscape. GLB plans to operate a 15,000 acre facility in Kankakee County. That is three times the size of O’Hare. That is five times larger than any other rail yard in the United States. There is no need for a rail switchyard of this magnitude. The United Pacific, the largest railroad company the US, and the Norfolk Southern, another large railroad company, have stated that they will not work with the GLB. So in essence the GLB wants to take 15,000 acres for a switchyard when it is evident that not nearly that amount of acreage is needed.That would cause a lot of damage for the environment for no reason. Of great concern is how the railroad would negatively impact the ability of emergency responders to do their jobs in an effective manner. With the amount of railroad crossings the GLB railroad would need and the amount of rail traffic they claim they will have, responders would have their response time greatly increased. It cannot be stressed enough that this increased time could lead to loss of life, significant fire damage, and other dire situations. The language used by the GLB has made it clear that the safety of the community is not a paramount point of their project. It is unclear who would pay for the needed training to keep first responders up to date on handling dangerous rail cargo. Kankakee County already has a high volume of traffic accidents and fatalities. The increased railroad crossings and the re-routing of roads would likely decrease the safety of community drivers even more. It seems that the GLB Railroad poses many threats to the environment and to the safety of the communities it traverses, only some of which I mentioned.
Submitted by: Brian Cramer · Kankakee, 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-23451 · back to the docket sheet