New Lenox Rail Sense

(Press Release from the Village of New Lenox) 

By Will County Executive Larry Walsh, Will County Board Chairman Jim Moustis and Village of New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann

We applaud the recent news of the Illinois Commerce Commission opposing the EJ&E Railway acquisition by Canadian National (CN) Railway. As the most respected authority on rail issues in Illinois, the ICC clearly understands the direct negative impact it will have on hundreds of thousands of people. While some have decided to give in to this transaction, Will County and the Village of New Lenox continue to vehemently oppose the measure.

Our resistance to the $300 million purchase of nearly 200 miles of track by CN has everything to do with the incredibly negative environmental impact it may have on our citizens. This issue can be spun in many ways to justify the acceptance of such an enormous change in our environment. Some have said we don’t have a legal leg to stand on, but the record of facts and legal proceedings say just the opposite.

Federal law requires an extensive and complete analysis of the environmental consequences resulting from the CN purchase of the EJ&E as well as the steps that can be taken to mitigate them. This did not happen. Most deplorably, increased exposure of minority communities to toxic chemicals was masked or ignored.

Our review of the STB decision indicates the environmental impact study also made assumptions instead of conducting the requisite surveys, while meaningful mitigation of environmental consequences in Will County has yet to be properly explored. As just one example, the STB admitted that there would be adverse environmental consequences for the areas around the EJ&E tracks - including Will County - but concluded that they would be made up for in part by environmental benefits from the resulting reduction in rail traffic on CN’s own lines - in Chicago! Worse still, the STB further admitted that even this benefit to Chicagoans may be “short lived” if CN then reroutes other rail traffic through Chicago. We find these fairly obvious mistakes hard to ignore.

The CN plan will increase Will County’s rail traffic by more than 400%, and transport 700% more hazardous material through Will County. There is also a lack of information on what level and type of hazardous materials will be traveling through our communities This is not about money. There is no other way to spin it except to say that the environmental, human and health safety consequences of the CN plan will be enormous.

Like other communities, we did seek to negotiate these issues with CN because we feel strongly that CN has not negotiated in good faith with the communities of Northeastern Illinois. We don’t believe it is appropriate to allow this transaction to go forward in exchange for a few noise walls and some cameras at grade crossings. Furthermore, the limited mitigation offered will be considered a drop in the bucket compared to what local communities, the State of Illinois and the Federal government will have to dole out to provide relief from this transaction. Some who criticize the County today for maintaining its opposition to the CN transaction will be the first to condemn our local governments if a hazmat event causes irreparable harm to our community.

Recent events have confirmed these fears. On January 17th, a CN derailment in a northern suburb forced 5,000 frustrated and sometimes-angry Metra riders to find other ways to get to work. More alarming, two of the cars that derailed carried molten sulfur, which is classified as a hazardous material.

From our perspective, the CN Acquisition issue cannot be ignored until a credible environmental impact study is conducted and fully evaluated for the County of Will - and adequate mitigation measures are identified and required. If this acquisition is to occur, it should be done right, which includes following federal standards that protect the people of Will County. We cannot and should not turn our backs on this beautiful county we call home, and we will fight to preserve its environment and the safety of our citizens. That is our responsibility and the women, men and children of Will County should expect nothing less.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under New Lenox, News, News Releases.

Tagged as: CN, EJ&E, Jim Moustis, Larry Walsh, Tim Baldermann, Will County.

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