Comment EI-23509
Received or sent (printed as 6/7/2016)
Concerns: Permanent destruction of prime farmland. This soil is the richest on planet earth. The natural grade of the land will be altered disrupting the natural flow of surface water. People in this township are living here because of the rural environment. Destroy that and people might be forced to go elsewhere. RR will cause land locked fields and pastures. Closing of township roads impacting rural school bus routes, emergency responders, commute times, business/ Possible ground water contamination due to spills and/or derailments. Risk permanent damage to surrounding soil with the transport of oil and chemicals. 24 acres per mile of railroad will be taken out of production FOREVER, causing loss of farm income and all future farm owners. Over 6,000 acres of easements land taken. Decreased land values for surrounding properties resulting in a lower tax base and less real estate taxes. This is not a company with a proven track record building railroads. What happens if they run out of money? What happens if the company is not profitable? Once farmland is lost to another land use, it will NEVER be brought back into crop production. Current efficient farmland equipment is made for bigger fields, hence, smaller fields and the current farmland equipment won't work together.
Submitted by: Judy Lange · Grant Park, Illinois
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-23509 · back to the docket sheet