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STB Finance Docket No. 35087, et al. ____________________________________ COMMISSIONER BUTTREY, concurring: I join in the Board’s decision today setting a schedule for completion of the environmental review process and issuance of a final decision in this matter. However, I have asked that this separate expression be included in order to express my deep concern with certain issues raised on the record that has been developed to date in this proceeding. I do so in the hope that the applicants and other interested parties will address these issues squarely in the remaining months before the Board must decide whether to approve the proposed transaction. The statute requires that the Board must determine whether the proposed transaction is consistent with the public interest. Further, for a transaction like this that does not involve the merger or control of at least two Class I railroads, the statute provides that the Board shall approve the application unless it finds serious anticompetitive effects that outweigh the public interest. Rail congestion has been a long-standing challenge in the greater Chicago area. Many well intentioned efforts have been made to address this problem over the years, but without total success. The application in this proceeding appears to be yet another such effort. It may indeed be motivated largely by frustration with the lack of success in dealing with Chicago rail congestion in the past. But this proceeding is different from other comprehensive efforts in that it would benefit mostly one rail carrier and its commercial partners. For this proposed transaction, the scope, in terms of track mileage and transaction cost, is relatively low. However, the issues related to environmental impacts, mitigation costs, and impacts on the affected communities both now and in the future appear to be incredibly high. The local Chicago communities directly impacted by this transaction, particularly, in my view, those located along EJ&E’s line north of Joliet, are essentially being asked to bear the heavy burden of years of failed efforts to address the Chicago rail congestion problem in a more comprehensive manner. There could also be a chilling effect on the future development of commuter rail service in the communities west of Chicago, which appears to me to be antithetical to the broadly defined public interest. The Board must be very sensitive to the environmental issues being raised by local communities, and I am confident that these concerns will be fully explored and considered in the EIS being prepared on the schedule we adopt today. I urge all interested parties to participate actively in this process. At the end of the environmental review process, I will carefully consider the recommended mitigation conditions that are generated, and they will factor importantly in my decision-making process. However, based on what I see now on the record, and what I saw when I recently visited the affected communities, it is hard for me to imagine how even the most far-reaching mitigation measures would be enough to offset or balance the environmental detriments that would flow from this proposal. 9
39357 SERVICE DATE – LATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 8, 2008 EB SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD DECISION STB Finance Docket No. 35087 CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY COMPANY AND GRAND TRUNK CORPORATION—CONTROL—EJ&E WEST COMPANY Decision No. 14 Decided: September 8, 2008 In this proceeding, Canadian National Railway Company (CNR) and Grand Trunk Corporation (GTC) (collectively referred to as CN or applicants) seek Board authorization to acquire control of EJ&E West Company (EJ&EW), a wholly owned noncarrier subsidiary of Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E). Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement dated September 25, 2007 (SPA), 1 the EJ&E would transfer a substantial portion of its existing rail line, consisting primarily of an arc around Chicago, IL, to EJ&EW, and then sell its EJ&EW stock to GTC. 2 In Decision No. 2, served November 26, 2007, the Board accepted the application for consideration under 49 CFR 1180.2(c), and also concluded that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 3 would need to be prepared to fulfill the Board’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. The Board explained that it would not issue a final decision on the application until the EIS process is completed, which has taken from 18 months to several years to complete in other cases. On May 13, 2008, CN asked the Board to complete the NEPA review and serve a final decision approving the application by December 1, 2008, so that GTC and EJ&E could complete the stock purchase by December 31, 2008. In Decision No. 13, served July 25, 2008, the Board set December 1, 2008, to January 31, 2009, as a target for the issuance of the Final EIS, followed by a final decision on the application as soon as possible thereafter. On August 14, 2008, CN filed a further petition to modify the procedural schedule. CN now asks the Board to rule that applicants have met the criteria of 49 U.S.C. 11324(d)(1) for 1 Railroad Control Application, CN-2, Exhibit 2. 2 The details are summarized at CN-2, pp. 19-20. 3 An EIS is the detailed written statement required by NEPA for major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. See 49 CFR 1105.4(f).
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meeting on September 3. I have encl
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meeting on September 2. Enclosed is
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We look forward to your on-going pa
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Appendix B Appendix B3 Public Outre
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Please fold, fasten, and mail. No e
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Elgin Joliet STB 35087 __________
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Uwagi muszą zostać przesłane do
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