Comment EI-25083
Received or sent (printed as 7/15/2016)
Dear Dave, I’m writing in regard to the devastating impact the proposed route for the GLB rail line would have on the Bernard & Barbara Hannon farms located between mile markers 2 and 4 at 8323 W State Road 2 and 2702 S Wozniak Road both of LaPorte, IN 46350. Our family farm has been recognized by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture as being owned by the same family for over 100 years. The program was instituted in 1976 and recognizes the contributions these family farms have made to the economic, cultural and social advancements of Indiana. Per the attached map, the proposed route and staging lines bisect 5 of our farm parcels and fall within a few hundred yards of two farm houses owned by the Hannon Trust, each of which are over 100 years old. Overpasses are proposed on State Road 2 in front of one home and a 2nd overpass is proposed on Wozniak in front of the 2nd centennial home. Staging lines are proposed to run between the barns where the equipment is stored and the field forcing travel with farm equipment out onto State Road 2 and the overpass. This would be massively disruptive to farm operations. In addition to the loss of farmland and productivity, there is a high risk of farm accidents and destruction of equipment. The back of the 5th parcel would be totally land-locked. As good stewards of this very productive farm land, the Hannon’s have prohibited the building of homes for generations so it’s heartbreaking to think their efforts and sacrifices would be in vain for the capital gain of the GLB railway. This land is irreplaceable and must be preserved. The rail way will destroy water sheds and drainage. The use of chemicals to maintain the rail line and staging lines would contaminate the soil which is the #1 contaminant to rivers, lakes, and streams. The proposed route is aggressively destructive to these very valuable resources. Resources should be focused on mitigating the risk of the handling, storage and movement of dangerous chemicals. Please don’t ask those along this 278 mile route and beyond to sacrifice their safety, quality of life and livelihood by shifting this problem to a less populated area. Thank you for your time and attention to this very serious matter. Lou Ann Hannon Robinson
Submitted by: Lou Ann Hannon Robinson · 1953 · La Porte, Indiana
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-25083
File docketyard.org/document/570546cbf2629adf678d989fc803fb579f1f812684b8991c413846c8911d0936.pdf · back to the docket sheet