City of Aurora :: 9th Ward Alderman Leroy Keith

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) has announced that its Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) has issued the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the proposed acquisition by the Canadian National Railway and Grand Trunk Corporation (collectively, "Applicants") of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJ&E) in the proceeding entitled Canadian National Ry. And Grand Trunk Corp.—Control—EJ&E West Co., STB Finance Docket No. 35087.

The Draft EIS identifies and analyzes the potential environmental impacts (both beneficial and adverse) that could occur to a wide range of environmental-resource areas as a result of the Applicants' proposed acquisition. The Draft EIS also sets forth SEA's preliminary recommended mitigation and the Applicants' voluntary mitigation measures, and continues to encourage mutually acceptable negotiated agreements to mitigate adverse environmental impacts should the Board approve the proposal. The Draft EIS reflects the active participation—well over 5,000 comments submitted to date—by members of the public in the "Chicagoland" area and beyond.

SEA has distributed the Draft EIS widely for public review and comment. Approximately 5,000 copies of the Draft EIS have been distributed on compact disc to all parties on SEA's environmental distribution list, which includes interested Federally recognized tribes, key governmental agencies, elected officials, and persons expressing an interest in receiving a copy of the Draft EIS or participating in the environmental-review process in this proceeding. SEA also has distributed the Draft EIS to all parties of record (official participants), and has made additional printed copies available for review in 49 libraries throughout Chicagoland.

SEA is providing the public a 60-day comment period on the Draft EIS, which will begin upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's issuance of a notice of availability in the Federal Register on August 1, 2008. At the conclusion of the comment period, SEA will prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) in response to the comments received. The Board will then issue a final decision, based on all public and agency comments received in the public record in this proceeding, that will address the transportation merits of the proposal and the entire environmental record, including the Draft EIS and the Final EIS. That final decision will either approve the proposed acquisition, deny it, or approve it with mitigating conditions, including environmental conditions.

SEA invites public comment on all aspects of the Draft EIS. Comments must be postmarked by September 30, 2008. Instructions for submitting comments, and a list of the locations, various dates, and times of public meetings to be held in August and September 2008 in the Chicagoland area, are attached as a Fact Sheet.

The Draft EIS was issued today, Friday, July 25, 2007 in STB Finance Docket No. 35087. The Draft EIS is available for viewing and downloading via the Board's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov, under "E-Library," then under "Decisions & Notices," beneath the date "7/25/08." For further information on the proceeding, access the project Web site at www.stbfinancedocket35087.com, or telephone the toll-free information line at 1-800-347-0689. The Draft EIS also may be viewed on the Board's Web site, under "Environmental Matters," then under "Key Cases." A Fact Sheet is attached.

FACT SHEET

The Surface Transportation Board's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) is providing an extensive public outreach and agency coordination to ensure that the public, agencies, elected officials, and communities have the opportunity to actively participate and comment on the Draft EIS and the Board's environmental review process. Comments on the Draft EIS must be postmarked by September 30, 2008, and can be submitted as set forth below.

Beginning on August 25, 2008, SEA will host eight open house/public meetings throughout the Chicagoland area to present the findings of the Draft EIS and receive public comments. Each open house/public meeting will offer an informal open house segment from 4:00-6:00 p.m., followed by a formal public meeting from 6:00-9:00 p.m. At the beginning of each formal public meeting segment, SEA will give a brief overview of its findings in the Draft EIS and will invite interested parties to make oral comments and/or submit written comments. SEA will have a transcriber present to record the oral comments in either English or Spanish. The dates, locations and times of the open house/public meetings are shown below:

OPEN HOUSE/PUBLIC MEETINGS ON DRAFT EIS
Date Location Address

Wednesday, August 27 Barrington, Illinois
Barrington High School 616 W. Main Street
Barrington, IL 60010

Thursday, August 28 Bartlett, Illinois
Bartlett High School 701 Schick Road
Bartlett, IL 60103

Monday, Sept. 8 Chicago, Illinois
Loyola University of Chicago 25 East Pearson Street
Chicago, IL 60611

Tuesday, Sept. 9 Aurora, Illinois
West Aurora High School 1201 W. New York Street
Aurora, IL 60506

Wednesday, Sept. 10 Gary, Indiana
Indiana University Northwest 3400 Broadway
Gary, IN 46408

Thursday, Sept. 11 Joliet, Illinois
Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center 411 S. Larkin Avenue
Joliet, IL 60435

The same short presentations will be given by staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. (the Board's contractor) at the beginning of each public meeting following the schedule outlined below:

Open House: 4:00 p.m.– 6:00 p.m. Staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. will be available to answer questions and help members of the public review project maps and other findings of the Draft EIS and analysis.
Public Meeting: 6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. will make a short presentation to the public and will then be available to receive formal comments on the Draft EIS. This portion of the meeting will be held for the purpose of receiving comment. It is not a question-and-answer session.

Beginning on July 25, 2008, speaker registration will take place on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the hotline to pre-register in advance (1-800-347-0689), or at the sign-in tables the day of the public meeting. Each speaker will be allocated up to 3 minutes to present his or her comment.

To allow as many speakers as possible the opportunity to speak, SEA asks that groups appoint a single spokesperson; that members of the public who have spoken at one of the other seven public meetings wait until others who have not spoken have the opportunity to be heard; and that speakers summarize their written comments rather then reading their full comments verbatim. In addition to speaking at the public meetings, comments may be submitted through the following methods:

Written Comments: Comment forms will be provided at the public meetings and will be accepted on site or by mail. Additionally, comment forms or written letters may be postmarked by September 30, 2008 to:

Phillis Johnson-Ball
Surface Transportation Board
395 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20423
Ref: STB Finance Docket No. 35087

Recorded Comments: Court reporters will be available at the public meetings for those who wish to dictate their comments in a more informal setting. Comments may also be recorded at any time during the comment period on the project hotline: 1-800-347-0689.

Electronic Comments: Comments may be filed electronically on the Boards web site, www.stb.dot.gov, by clicking on the E-FILING link. Please refer to STB Finance Docket No. 35087.

All comments received—written, e-filed, or oral—will carry equal weight in helping to complete the EIS process and guide the Board in its decision-making on this matter.

On Tuesday our Federal Legislators held a Congression Field Hearing in Chicago to discuss the sale of the EJ&E Railroad to the Canadian National. Both Maryor Tom Weisner (Aurora Mayor) and Barrington Village President Karen Darch, TRAC Co-Chairs testified and many members from the coalition attended the hearing. Below is a quick summary of the media that was in attendance along with some news clips that have already been posted. This information has been provided by Mr. Ryan Mclaughlin of Mac Strategies.

Television – Channel 2 (feature ran at 6pm), 7, 9, and Fox 32

Radio – WGN-AM and WBBM-AM Radio covered the event

Print - Chicago Tribune , Chicago Sun Times, Daily Herald, Southtown Star, Northwest Herald, Kane County Chronicle, Aurora Beacon News (STNG Group), Pioneer Press, Northwest Times (Indiana) and Post Tribune (Indiana)

http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/freight.expansion.plan.2.788613.html

Aug 5, 2008 6:30 pm US/Central

Critics Of Freight Plan Take Fight To Congress
Reporting
Mike Flannery

BARRINGTON, Ill. (CBS) ― Opponents of a freight train line expansion through the suburbs have taken their fight to Congress. As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, critics of the plan say it will bring crippling traffic congestion.

Near North Avenue and Northwest Highway in Barrington, it is quiet along the EJ&E tracks most of the day now. That would change if, as expected, a federal agency soon approves the purchase of the tracks by Canadian-based Canadian National.

The railroad plans to run freight trains that could be one mile or more in length through the Chicago suburbs. It would create gigantic traffic jams, for example, along Northwest Highway.

Barrington Village President Karen Darch said, "People are not happy. There were more than 3,000 written comments."

Officials in Barrington are outraged that the Canadian railroad has offered to pay relatively little, only four percent, of what Barrington claims the changes will cost local taxpayers.

"The community, the state, the American taxpayers should not have to pay for CN to have a faster route and to increase their profit at our expense," Darch said.

She and other local officials took their complaints to a Congressional hearing Tuesday in Chicago, where a Congressman from Rockford ridiculed a report that's been prepared for the federal agency that seems poised to authorize an expansion of freight train service through the area.

U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo said, "There are two volumes of this (report) and they didn't even examine all the intersections that are involved. We don't even know the number of trains that CN eventually wants to run on those tracks. They won't tell us that."

Aurora Mayor Thomas Weisner, said, "We're talking about a billion dollars of mitigation of underpasses, overpasses, etc., that will be required as a result of this deal and Canadian National's not ready to step up."

In the face of those billion dollar cost estimates from opponents, Canadian National has offered $40 million for crossing upgrades. But Darch and a spokeswoman for the state of Illinois said it could cost $100 million for one crossing in Barrington.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

CN has few friends at Congressional hearing

By KEVIN CRAVER - kcraver@nwnewsgroup.com

August 5, 2008

CHICAGO - The hot seat reserved for Canadian National at a Congressional field hearing over its proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway was conspicuously empty Tuesday.

But to the opponents of the acquisition who filled the courtroom of the Dirksen Federal Building, the absence of President/CEO Hunter Harrison or a subordinate spoke volumes, especially to the four suburban U.S. Representatives who convened the hearing. The 90-minute hearing was filled with testimony from mayors and state agency representatives who warned of dire consequences should CN be allowed to push more freight on the 200-mile EJ&E rail loop around Chicago.

“I am disappointed that representatives from CN felt they did not need to be here today, because they’re best equipped to answer some of these questions,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Batavia.

Foster was joined by fellow representatives Melissa Bean, D-Barrington, Don Manzullo, R-Egan, and Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale, who collected testimony for the Surface Transportation Board that has to approve the purchase. Manzullo went so far as to call CN’s vacant spot at the hearing “the empty chair of arrogance.”

Montreal-based CN announced last year that it intended to buy the 200-mile EJ&E rail line for $300 million in an effort to decrease rail congestion through Chicago, a vital rail and trucking hub. The EJ&E line, presently owned by U.S. Steel Corp., runs from Waukegan around Chicago to Gary, Ind.

Opponents said an increase in rail traffic – CN estimates between 15 and 24 freight trains a day in some communities, will decrease quality of life, increase environmental pollution and kill Metra’s long-sought Suburban Transit Access Route, which requires 36 miles of the EJ&E.

Barrington Village President Karen Darch testified that a CN purchase would mean 20 more trains a day through her town. And trains varying from 6,200 to 10,000 feet long could block off Barrington’s three crossings at Routes 14 and 59 and Lake-Cook Road at the same time, said Darch, who is co-chairwoman of the opposition group The Regional Answer to Canadian National.

Improving those three Barrington crossings, Darch estimated, would cost $100 million apiece.

CN has offered $40 million toward mitigating some of the effects along the line, a sum that many affected communities say is woefully inadequate.

Darch’s fellow chairman, Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, said the tab inevitably would be picked up by the taxpayers.

“Let me be clear - the negative environmental, public safety and traffic congestion impacts on the region should be reason enough to reject this proposal,” Weisner said.

The purchase had a lone supporter in Jeff Berman, trustee for the village of Buffalo Grove, which supports the CN acquisition. Berman said the purchase would decrease the time that trains full of goods would pass through the Chicago area, which would in turn improve the economy and create jobs. He also pointed out that the report states that 60 cities would actually see decreased daily rail traffic.

Berman also took a swipe at the panel and the impartiality of the hearing.

“Each of you declared your opposition to this transaction long before you staged this hearing,” Berman told the panel.“ Like the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, it is sentence first, trial afterward.”

In a prepared statement released after the hearing, CN stated that the people conducting the hearing “...have not yet acknowledged the significant public benefits this transaction would provide to the regional economies and to dozens of Chicago area communities that would see a reduction in freight traffic as a result of the transaction.”

Harrison expressed similar sentiments in his letter last week to Bean and the other legislators denying the invite. CN spokespeople could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The members of Congress also had harsh words for a draft environmental impact report prepared for the STB, which they said downplays the impact of increased rail traffic. They have since sponsored legislation that would require the board, a three-member panel appointed by the president, that would require it to also analyze impacts on local communities before approving a rail expansion.

“I think it’s apparent that this environmental impact study deserves an F,” Manzullo said.

The STB is collecting testimony and public comment on the proposed sale until the end of September. It plans to deliver a ruling in December or January, a timetable that Bean and the other legislators said is way too soon.

Lawmakers turn up heat on C-N over EJ&E purchase
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1092068,080508eje.article)

August 5, 2008

BY GUY TRIDGELL, Staff Writer

Suburban lawmakers turned up the heat today on the Surface Transportation Board, calling on it to reject a proposed railroad merger that would reroute dozens of trains a day into the suburbs.

At a hearing this morning in Chicago, the area's suburban delegation said they will push for a new law that would force the board to give a thumbs down to CN Railroad's plans to buy the EJ&E Railroad tracks encircling the Chicago area.

The existing rules require the board to consider only the potential effects on rail commerce and competitiveness when ruling on mergers and acquisitions. The new law would require the board to weigh the potential impacts to communities, too.

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th), of Hinsdale, said the rush is on to pass the bill before the end of September, when the Surface Transportation Board, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, begins to prepare its final decision on the CN purchase of the EJ&E.

"This is kind of unprecedented. We couldn't do it any faster," Biggert said. "We can maybe move mountains."

Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland said the legislation might be the only chance to protect his town's quality of life from trains continually blocking six street crossings.

"It's a David and Goliath issue," said Holland, who attended the hearing but did not testify. "The laws are already stacked against us."

For $300 million, CN wants to buy the 198 miles of EJ&E tracks that arc through several suburbs, including New Lenox, Frankfort, Matteson and Chicago Heights.

Although he was invited to testify at the hearing, CN chairman Hunter Harrison did not attend the hearing. A name plate with Hunter's name sat in front of an empty chair during the hearing.

Also not appearing was U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-11th), whose district includes most of the EJ&E in the south suburbs. A Weller spokesman said the congressman was unable to attend.

New: Mayors, Congressmen blast CN railway plans at hearing
By KEVIN CRAVER - kraver@nwherald.com

CHICAGO – Supporters of Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway were few and far between at a Tuesday morning hearing convened by four U.S. Representatives opposed to the deal.

Mayors of towns bisected by the railway, and mass transit advocates, blasted the purchase at the hearing at the Dirksen Federal Building. Opponents said the purchase, which would put more freight trains through many towns along the EJ&E, would increase commute times, lower quality of life and increase traffic deaths along the 200-mile route that loops around Chicago from Waukegan to Gary, Ind.

CN last year announced its intent to buy the railway for $300 million.

Conspicuously absent from Tuesday’s hearing were representatives from Montreal-based CN, who last week declined an invitation to attend, citing in part the unanimous opposition of the four-member panel. The hearing was convened by U.S. Reps. Melissa Bean, D-Barrington, Don Manzullo, R-Egan, Bill Foster, D-Batavia, and Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale.

The foursome unanimously decried CN’s decision not to attend, with Manzullo going so far as to call the reserved seat “the empty chair of arrogance.”

Read more about the hearing in Wednesday’s Northwest Herald.

ArlingtonHeights-Post.com Member of the Sun-Times News Group

Hearing leaders: Shifting rail congestion is not the answer
(http://www.pioneerlocal.com/arlingtonheights/news/1092876,g5-cnhearing-080708-s1.article)

August 5, 2008

By TONY A. SOLANO tsolano@pioneerlocal.com

Testimony during Tuesday's (Aug. 5) Congressional field hearing affirmed local residents' concerns about increased train traffic if Canadian National Railway Co. is allowed to purchase the EJ & E Railroad.

The hearing was held in response to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board's draft Environmental Impact Study that favored the CN rail buy.

Concerns centered around the cost of mitigation and how it would be paid for, the number of additional trains CN plans to put on the EJ&E beyond five years, safety and traffic congestion.

"I am disappointed that representatives from Canadian National declined to be here because they are best equipped to answer these questions," said U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-14th.

CN released a statement stating it would participate in all upcoming hearings hosted by the STB and reiterated that the transaction would be a benefit to the region.

"Shifting congestion (from the inner city to the EJ & E Railroad) is not the answer. It takes the problems of one community and brings them to another," said U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-16th.

He said citizens should not be forced to pay to mitigate the problems associated with increasing freight traffic on the line from five trains per day to 20 trains per day.

The hearing was hosted by Foster, Manzullo and U.S. Reps. Melissa Bean, D-8th, and Judy Biggert, R-13th.

The Congressional members will petition the transportation board to extend the comment period for the environmental study beyond Sept. 30 to give lawmaker more time to work on federal legislation to reform the transportation board review process.

"This was encouraging to see their devotion to the issue, to move this legislation forward and to bring more pressure on the STB for an extension of time," said Barrington Village President Karen Darch.

Darch represented The Regional Answer To Canadian National (TRAC) at the hearing and said the cost for grade separations at Routes 14, Route 59 and Lake Cook Road could be up to $100 million each.

Diane O'Keefe of the Illinois Department of Transportation said most grade separation projects cost between $40 and $60 million, but agreed that grade separations in downtown Barrington might cost more.

CN President E. Hunter Harrison has stated previously the company will work with local communities to pay for mitigation but CN's contribution would be about 5 percent of the total cost.

An STB public hearing regarding the purchase will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Aug. 27 at Barrington High School, 616 W. Main St.

CaryGrove-Countryside.com Member of the Sun-Times News Group

Lawmakers: Transportation board 'ignoring' citizens

(http://www.pioneerlocal.com/arlingtonheights/news/1092877,g5-cnhearing-080708-s3.article)

August 7, 2008

By MATT KIEFER mkiefer@pioneerlocal.com

During a Congressional field hearing on the proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway this week, lawmakers all but guaranteed they will take their fight against Canadian National to Washington, D.C.

Members of the Illinois Congressional delegation held the hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago on Tuesday (Aug. 5) to spotlight some of the potential impacts of increasing freight traffic along the EJ&E.

Prior to the hearing, lawmakers admonished the federal Surface Transportation Board for "ignoring" some of those impacts in a recent study, but pointed to recently introduced legislation as solutions to help block Canadian National's plans.

"The way the Surface Transportation Board is currently chartered ... their considerations are focused solely on the rail industry and not on the citizens and their communities," remarked U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, D-8th, of Barrington.

Canadian National has proposed a four-fold increase of freight traffic along the EJ&E once it acquires the railway, drawing protests from many communities along that freight line.

Several members of Congress representing the EJ&E corridor, including Bean and US. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-6th, of Wheaton -- along with House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar -- plan to introduce a bill that would create new mandates for the Surface Transportation Board to follow when considering an acquisition like Canadian National's. It is known as the TRACS Act, short for Taking Responsibility for Community Safety.

Under the proposed law, the board would have to take into consideration factors such as grade crossing safety, emergency response time and commuter rail impacts before approving such a deal. Lawmakers implied the bill, which they intend file after the current recess, could be enacted into law in time for the EJ&E purchase.

"The free flow of goods across this nation is key to our continued economic success, however, we must place equal weight and consideration to the adverse impact increased freight traffic can have on our communities," Roskam, who did not attend Tuesday's hearing, said in a statement.

Last month, Roskam introduced a separate bill in Congress that would also prevent additional freight traffic from running along the EJ&E. Roskam's STAR Act would designate the rail line as a commuter rail corridor, and any request to run more freight trains along it would require approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Roskam's bill, co-sponsored by Bean and other local lawmakers, is named for the proposed Metra STAR Line, which would use the EJ&E to take passengers between O'Hare International Airport and Joliet.

ArlingtonHeights-Post.com Member of the Sun-Times News Group

Testimony: Rail buy would affect plans for STAR Line
(http://www.pioneerlocal.com/arlingtonheights/news/1092883,g5-cnhearing-080708-s2.article)

August 7, 2008

By ANDREW HELLPAP ahellpap@pioneerlocal.com

Stymied development of a proposed Metra commuter rail line won't delay a considerable development projects in nearby villages, but it could impact long-range planning, according to local and state officials.

Plans are ongoing for the STAR Line, a rail line that would carry commuters from O'Hare International Airport along the Northwest Tollway median to Hoffman Estates, then turn south on 35 miles of the Elgin Joliet & Eastern-owned rails to Joliet.

On Tuesday (Aug. 5) a bi-partisan U.S. House of Representatives delegation held a public hearing at the Dirksen Federal Building to gain public input to take to the federal, three-member Surface Transportation Board as the board prepares a final environmental impact statement for Canadian National's bid to purchase the EJ&E railway. The rail line is what the STAR Line has proposed to using.

The transportation board is responsible for final approval of the sale of EJ&E's rail line.

Both U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, D-8th, of Barrington and Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano raised concerns at the hearing that the Canadian National deal could affect the STAR Line.

Canadian National has said it wants the Metra line to be on its own separate right-of-way, which would be considerably more expensive, Pagano told the delegation.

"Our issue is and continues to be joint use of trackage," he said.

By setting the timetable back, or even calling into question the likelihood the new commuter line would ever be built, Canadian National's acquisition of the EJ&E line hamstrings the ability of communities like Rolling Meadows, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg to execute long-range planning near the proposed site of the STAR Line, Bean said.

That route would include a possible stop in Rolling Meadows, which will have an impact on the increment potential, or value, of the tax increment finance district under consideration by the city of Rolling Meadows, Melena said.

Currently, the STAR Line would pass near a planned $500 million development at the site of 12 Oaks at Woodfield apartment complex by Northbrook-based Pine Tree Commercial Realty and Draper and Kramer of Chicago.

The developers have indicated to Rolling Meadows their project is not contingent on the existence of the STAR Line, Melena said.

Echoing Bean's sentiments, STAR Line's uncertainty could impact future planning at the site, he said.

If a development that is not directly tied to rail service is allowed to be constructed near the site of a possible commuter train station before the station is built, it can't just be torn down in favor of a structure that could benefit (the rail service), Melena said.

"The hidden impact is we are going to build stuff there, then we are going to remodify this stuff," he said.