Get a say on railway proposal
On July 25, the Surface Transportation Board served the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Canadian National Railway Company's acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.
As a part of the process, the board's section of environmental analysis will hold eight public meetings to present the findings in the draft statement and to allow an opportunity for public comment on the document.
The Surface Transportation Board's Section of Environmental Analysis 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.
Beginning today, SEA will host eight open house/public meetings throughout the Chicago 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 to 6 p.m., followed by a formal public meeting from 6 to 9 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 open house/public meetings are:
• Today: Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 500 Holiday Plaza Drive, Matteson.
• Tuesday: Crowne Plaza Chicago North Shore, 510 E. Route 83, Mundelein.
• Wednesday: Barrington High School 616 W. Main St., Barrington.
• Thursday: Bartlett High School, 701 Schick Road, Bartlett.
• Sept. 8: Loyola University of Chicago, 25 E. Pearson St., Chicago.
• Sept. 9: West Aurora High School, 1201 W. New York St., Aurora.
• Sept. 10: Indiana University Northwest, 3400 Broadway, Gary.
• Sept. 11: Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, 411 S. Larkin Ave., Joliet.
During the open house from 4 to 6 p.m., board staff and HDR Inc. (the board's contractor) will be available to answer questions and help members of the public review project maps and other findings of the Draft EIS and analysis. During the public meeting from 6 to 9 p.m., they will make a short presentation to the public and 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.
Speaker registration began July 25 and takes place on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the hotline to register in advance (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 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 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 other methods.
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: (800) 347-0689.
Comments on the Draft EIS must be postmarked by Sept. 30, and can be submitted to Phillis Johnson-Ball, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20423, Ref: STB Finance Docket No. 35087.
Or comments may be filed electronically on the board's 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.