(The Clear Lake Citizen posted the following article by Mary Alys Cherry on its website on June 11.)
CLEAR LAKE, Texas — The residents of Clear Lake need some high-level help in their fight to halt construction of a proposed new railroad close to their homes and schools.
Specifically, they need the help of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia.
And, a little pressure from Clear Lake residents couldn’t hurt, either.
That is the focus of Houston City Councilwoman Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who hopes to alter the plans of the San Jacinto Rail Partnership.
“The City of Houston is running out of time and ammunition in our fight against San Jacinto Rail’s construction of new rail. As early as June 9,” she said Thursday, “Burlington Northern Santa Fe can start laying track along Clear Lake City Boulevard, regardless of the city’s ongoing legal actions, including judicial and administrative appeals.”
Clear Lake residents, she continued, “need the help of Congressman DeLay…Commissioner Garcia, County Judge Eckels and the Port of Houston Commissioners to pressure Burlington Northern and Union Pacific into negotiating a better long-term rail plan for southeast Harris County which includes usage of existing track.”
Citizens should contact their officials and continue to voice their concerns,” she said.
“The city has done most of the heavy lifting in this battle,” she continued. “We have allocated over $450,000 for outside legal counsel, plus the resources of our in-house legal team to fight the construction of all proposed new routes.”
There is little doubt that the new rail will jeopardize the quality of life for thousands of Houstonians and Harris County residents.”
All regional officials must work together before it is too late,” she added.
Both the City of Houston and the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association have plans for appealing the recent federal decision to allow construction of the new San Jacinto Rail line.
The $80 million 12.8 mile line, to be built by four Bayport chemical companies and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, would stretch from the Bayport Industrial District around Clear Lake City to connect with Union Pacific tracks near Ellington Field.
The companies say they need the new rail line as they are having to pay exorbitant shipping fees to Union Pacific, which has a monopoly at the industrial site just north of Seabrook.
So far, there has been little or no negotiation between the two railroads and efforts to reach any agreement on track usage have proved fruitless.