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>From the Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C.
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The Surface Transportation Board (Board)
announced today 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.( )
EIS was issued today, Friday, July 25, 2007
in STB Finance Docket No. 35087.</a>] 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.
###
ATTACHMENT
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
Monday, August 25
Matteson,
Illinois
Holiday Inn Hotel
& Conference
Center
500 Holiday Plaza Drive
Matteson, IL 60443
Tuesday, August 26
Mundelein,
Illinois
Crowne Plaza
Chicago North
Shore
510 E. Route 83
Mundelein, IL 60060
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.
###
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