(The Pasadena Citizen posted the following article by Deanna Sheffield on its website on May 11.)
PASADENA, Texas — U.S. Surface Transportation Board officials unanimously voted to give San Jacinto Rail Limited the green light to build a controversial 12.8-mile rail line from south Pasadena to Bayport on Friday, despite an outpouring of public sentiment that the project will negatively affect quality of life in the area.
The main route proposed as well as two alternate routes were approved conditionally pending environmental mitigation, said U.S. Surface Transportation Board spokeswoman Nancy Beiter.
“They’ve basically been told that they can build any of the three options, but one is preferred. Alternative 1-C would have minimal effects on aviation,” Beiter said.
The alternative is nearly identical to the original proposal, however, tracks will be constructed farther south of Ellington Field near where Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Company secured permission to utilize existing Union Pacific tracks.
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended the alternative because previously, the original proposal included constructing tracks within the gates of Ellington Field, a technical difficulty expected to cause delays.
San Jacinto Rail Limited spokesman Henry de La Garza said any additional costs required to construct the tracks along the alternative route are “negligible.”
“We have worked long and hard to see this through to conclusion in an environmentally responsible manner, and we are pleased with the conclusions reached by the STB,” de La Garza said. “We are setting forward and meeting our mission.”
San Jacinto Rail Limited is a partnership of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Company, which will operate the rail, and its affiliates ATOFINA Petrochemicals, Basell USA, Equistar Chemicals, LP; and Lyondell Chemical Company.
The permit was granted only one week after the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which cited moderate to negligible impacts on the environment and nearby residents, was released by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s Section of Environmental Analysis. The $81 million project has been pending since 2001.
“We see it as another milestone in our quest to bring about a competitive rail service,” said David Harpole, spokesman for Lyondell Chemical Company and Equistar Chemicals, LP.
Construction of the project could begin as early as fall and will take about 18 to 24 months to complete. San Jacinto Rail Limited is still in the process of acquiring project land through condemnation. They must also wait for approval from both the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before proceeding with construction.
The board’s decision will not become effective until the end of an appeals period on June 9.
During that period, a number of public officials and local environmental organizations are expected to appeal the decision, potentially delaying construction.
“We kind of expected this sort of thing would come out of the Surface Transportation Board. They pretty much ignored all of the information supporting environmental injustice,” said Larry Tobin, a board member for the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association. “How can you even be disappointed with an agency that doesn’t do their job. We expected they would be industry biased, and that’s what we got.”
“They need to have some understanding of the residents along the railroad tracks. I just can’t understand how you’re doing your job when you’re putting people at risk.”
U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, also denounced the board’s decision, declaring: “This whole process is broken.”
Green said not only did the STB ignore hundreds of public comments but also dangerous grade crossings and safer alternatives.
“If the STB approves a line from the Bayport plants past neighborhoods and schools, without addressing residential grade crossings, why does the board exist?” he questioned.
Green said he plans to unite with the city of Houston to appeal the ruling, and he supports challenging the order in court. The city of Houston had previously declared their willingness to appeal the decision if the STB granted a permit for the project.
“These people just really don’t care,” Tobin declared of the STB.