FOR RELEASE: Contact: Elaine K. Kaiser
Thursday, July 17, 1997 Mike Dalton
No. 97-56 (202) 565-1530
TDD (202) 565-1695
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
TO PREPARE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
ON “CSX-NS-CONRAIL” CONTROL APPLICATION
Surface Transportation Board (Board) Chairman Linda J. Morgan announced today that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared as part of the Board’s review of the June 23, 1997, application In the case entitled CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc., Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Control and Operating Leases/Agreements--Conrail Inc. and Consolidated Rail Corporation, STB Finance Docket No. 33388. filed with the Board by the CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc. Collectively referred to as “CSX”.; the Norfolk Southern Corporation and the Norfolk Southern Railway Company Collectively referred to as “NS”.; and Conrail Inc. and the Consolidated Rail Corporation Collectively referred to as “Conrail”. seeking authority for CSX and NS’s acquisition of control of Conrail, and for the division of Conrail’s assets by and between CSX and NS.
The proposed transaction involves over 44,000 miles of railroad lines and related facilities covering a large part of the eastern United States, and contemplates changes in railroad operations, such as increases and decreases in traffic on rail lines; changes in activity at rail yards and intermodal facilities; and rail line abandonment and construction projects.
The Board’s Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will prepare the EIS that will include an analysis of the proposal’s possible environmental effects relative to safety; transportation systems; land and energy use; air quality; noise levels; biological, water, and historical/cultural resources; and socioeconomic factors directly related to possible physical changes in the environment, environmental justice, and historical/cultural resources.
The Board has adopted a 350-day procedural schedule for consideration of the proposal. The Board’s July 7, 1997, Federal Register notice discussing the scope of the EIS invited public comments by August 6, 1997. The SEA intends to complete EIS scoping by September 1997 and to issue a Draft EIS in November 1997. Public comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted for a period of 45 days following its issuance.
The SEA will consider all comments received on the Draft EIS in its preparation of a Final EIS and in its presentation of final recommendations to the Board. The SEA will issue the Final EIS in late March or early April 1998, prior to the Board’s -- MORE-- open voting conference scheduled for April 14, 1998. At that conference, the Board will announce whether it will grant the application, deny it, or grant it with conditions. The Board next will issue its written decision on June 8, 1998, in which the Board will address the relevant issues, including environmental issues, and impose any conditions found to be appropriate, including environmental conditions.
The public is invited to call the SEA’s toll-free Environmental Hotline at 1-888-869-1997 with any questions regarding the Board’s environmental review process, or to request a fact sheet about the proposed transaction. Additional information about the proposal is available on the Internet at the SEA’s “Conrail Acquisition Web Page” at www.conrailmerger.com.
The public may submit comments regarding potential
environmental effects of the proposal by sending an original plus
10 copies to the Board at the following address:
Case Control Unit
Office of the Secretary
Surface Transportation Board
1925 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20423-0001
Attn: Elaine K. Kaiser, Chief
Section of Environmental Analysis
“Environmental Filing, F.D. 33388"
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