(The following story by Cindy Wojdyla Cain appeared in the Beacon News, December 2)
AURORA, Il – -The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has put the brakes on the proposed sale of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad to Canadian National Railway Co.
The agency said last week that it will conduct a full environmental impact study as it reviews CN’s plan to buy the U.S. Steel-owned EJ&E for $300 million. Without the environmental impact study, a decision on the business aspects of the sale could have come by April. But the EIS could take 18 months to several years, according to the Surface Transportation Board.
Several communities along the rail route have opposed the acquisition because they are concerned about the increased train traffic that could block roads and increase noise and air pollution in their towns.
CN spokesman Jim Kvedaras said the company would have preferred an environmental analysis, which would have taken less time, to a full environmental impact study.
“It’s their call,” he said of the Surface Transportation Board. “It’s their process and their rules.”
Kvedaras said the company still hopes to get a decision some time in 2008.
Canadian National wants to buy the EJ&E so it can re-route traffic around congested tracks in Chicago. The EJ&E stretches 198 miles from Waukegan in the north to Gary, Ind., in the east.
The line has been proposed as a possible commuter rail route which would link Joliet with O’Hare International Airport, with rail stations in Aurora, Naperville, Elgin and other communities.
The Surface Transportation Board has deemed the sale a “minor” business transaction. But it also acknowledged opponents’ concerns.
“Preparation of an EIS is warranted in view of the large projected traffic increases on certain line segments and the resulting potential impacts of the proposed transaction on a number of communities,” the agency said.
The agency also outlined what will happen next. First, a draft environmental impact study will be prepared. The public will have 45 days to comment on the draft. Then a final impact statement will be prepared that will respond to the public comments and include recommendations for environmental mitigation.
The deadline for notices of intent to participate in the proceedings is Dec. 13.
The deadline is Jan. 28, 2008, for all comments, protests, requests for conditions, and any other evidence and argument in opposition to the primary application or related filings.
March 13, 2008, is the deadline for responses to comments, protests, requests for conditions, and other opposition or rebuttal in support of the primary application or related filings.
For more information, go to www.stb.dot.gov or call (202) 306-4004.