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Environmental Matters>CN/EJ&E West Company

Use the following links to access information about Key Cases within STB. You will need Adobe Acrobat to download and read many of these files.

Key Cases: CN/EJ&E LINKS ABSTRACT

On October 30, 2007, the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) (along with its U.S. subsidiary, Grand Trunk Corporation) filed an application with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) seeking to acquire control of EJ&E West Company, a wholly owned noncarrier subsidiary of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E). EJ&E is a Class II railroad that currently operates 198 miles of track in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. Also in the application, CN is seeking to construct six new rail connections and approximately 19 miles of new sidings and double tracking. On November 26, 2007, the Board issued Decision No. 2, announcing its Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

 The Draft EIS was served on July 25, 2008. A copy of the entire Draft EIS is available on the Board’s website under E-LIBRAY, Decisions and Notices under July 25, 2008, FD 35087. The entire Draft EIS is also available on the project website (www.stbfinancedocket35087.com). In addition, hard copies of the entire Draft EIS have been placed in 51 libraries located in communities along the EJ&E rail line.

The Surface Transportation Board’s Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) is providing an extensive public outreach and agency coordination comment period to ensure that the public, agencies, elected officials, and communities have the opportunity to actively participate and comment on the 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 Chicago metropolitan 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 4:00-6:00pm, followed by a formal public meeting from 6:00-9:00pm. 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

Rubloff Auditorium

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 Auditorium

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 presentation will be given by staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. at the beginning of each public meeting following the schedule outlined below:

 

Open House: 4:00pm – 6:00pm

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: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. will make a short presentation to the public and will 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 be determined on a first come first served basis by calling the hotline to pre-register in advance (1-800-347-0689) or you may sign up at the sign-in tables the day of the public meeting. Phone registration will end at 6 PM the day prior to the meeting. Each speaker will be allocated up to 3 minutes to present comments.

 

In order to allow as many speakers the opportunity to speak, we ask that groups appoint a single spokesperson. Members of the public who have spoken at another meeting will wait until others who have not spoken have the opportunity to be heard. Speakers should summarize their written comments rather then reading their full comments verbatim. In addition to persons 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 must 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 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 finalize the EIS and guide the Board in its decision making on this matter.

Additional information is available on the project website (www.stbfinancedocket35087.com) or the toll-free project information line (1-800-347-0689).