Governor Provides Testimony Before Surface Transportation Board

Statement

Governor provides testimony before Surface Transportation Board

Governor Mitch Daniels today provided written and oral testimony to the Surface Transportation Board at its public hearing about the draft environment impact statement for the proposed Canadian National Railway acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. Anne Valentine, the governor's policy director for transportation, will deliver the oral testimony on the governor's behalf at tonight's public hearing at Indiana University Northwest.

The text of Governor Daniels' oral testimony is below. The written testimony may be found at this link: http://www.in.gov/gov/files/Press/091008_Daniels_written_comments_STB.pdf

"Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments, and thank you to Congressman Visclosky for his leadership and engagement with the local community on this issue.

As the "Crossroads of America," Indiana has a particular interest in ensuring adequate infrastructure to maintain a vibrant economy. For transportation - and specifically rail - this means balancing the need to move people and freight safely and rapidly while assuring Hoosiers have safe and livable communities.

First, despite the enormous concern about this transaction (unprecedented according to Surface Transportation Board staff) and its significant impact in Northwest Indiana, I am disappointed the Surface Transportation Board has seen fit to conduct only one public meeting in Indiana during this comment period.

The proposed purchase by Canadian National of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad has a significant impact on Northwest Indiana. While the majority of rail crossings in this transaction are in Illinois, virtually all of the rail traffic will run thru Northwest Indiana. Communities such as Griffith, Dyer and East Chicago will see more trains more frequently and will experience longer delays at crossings. Economic development projects such as the expansion of the Gary Airport and extension of the South Shore Line are also impacted by this transaction.

After reviewing the STB's Draft Environmental Impact Statement, too many questions are left unanswered and significant safety and congestion concerns remain.

This morning, I submitted detailed written comments on this matter to the STB. Chief among my concerns is that the DEIS contains voluntary mitigation measures. Without specific, mandatory mitigation measures (and accompanying deadlines and financial commitments), and without a legally binding commitment from Canadian National to complete the mitigation measures, the burden of this transaction will rest entirely on affected communities and the state of Indiana.

This is not acceptable to the citizens and communities of Northwest Indiana, nor is it acceptable to me. I commit the expertise and service of the Indiana Department of Transportation to serve as a resource for CN and local communities as they determine appropriate safety improvement measures and congestion mitigation. I ask the STB to require CN to commit to mitigate, at its own expense, the safety and congestion impacts caused by this transaction."

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