CARE FL’s Comments on Final Environmental Impact Statement Actions
To: Concerned Citizens
From: Brent P. Hanlon, Treasurer of CARE FL
Date: September 25, 2015
Subject: CARE FL’s Comments on Final Environmental Impact Statement
Shown below is latest communication to the media regarding CARE FL’s comments on the FRA’s Final Environmental Impact Statement; which was submitted on September 23rd, 2015.
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M E M O R A N D U M
Dear Members of the Media,
Please find attached a PDF of the comments from Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida (CARE FL) on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed All Aboard Florida (AAF) project.
Statement by Brent Hanlon, Treasurer of CARE Florida
Regarding the Final Environmental Impact Statement
“The Final Environmental Impact Statement released by the FRA in August 2015 isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. It never straightforwardly addresses the real concerns voiced by citizens from the impacted communities – concerns over the chosen route, public safety, the ability to use the navigable waterways, unimpeded access to health care facilities, and the overall negative impact of the project on our quality of life. It ignored many of the concerns we expressed in our December 2014 comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The correspondence between FRA and AAF shown in CARE’s comments demonstrates that AAF aggressively intervened with the regulatory agency in an overbearing way. We understand that the FEIS is not truly final until a Record of Decision, or ROD, is issued. If the ROD does not adequately address our concerns, CARE will need to consider litigation in order to protect the rights of Treasure Coast citizens.”
CARE Florida’s comments focus on the important issue of maritime navigability, and also incorporate by reference the comments submitted by Martin County and Indian River County. Key points with respect to CARE’s maritime navigation concerns include:
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Dana Goward (Ret.)—who also served as the maritime navigation authority for the United States government as a member of the Senior Executive Service—expressed serious concern over the failure of the FEIS to adequately address water navigation and maritime issues, saying, “The FEIS consistently failed to seek or use accurate data, and failed to make good faith estimates of the negative impacts of the AAF proposal on navigation and navigation-related economies and communities.”
The FEIS is not really final since the U.S. Coast Guard has not determined that the AAF project would meet the reasonable needs of navigation. Without this determination, the FEIS cannot be completed, does not meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, and the project cannot be permitted.
The errors and failures in the FEIS – ranging from the use of incomplete maritime data, to false assumptions on long-term impacts, to the unrealistic assumption that adding 32 short, fast passenger trains to 20 long freight trains each day over the 230 mile route can be done without introducing any delays —demonstrate that the FEIS was not a good faith effort, but rather a document developed to support a pre-determined judgment in favor of the project.
Should you have any questions or would like to speak to one of the members of CARE FL please don’t hesitate to contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies at 850-222-4100.
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Your continued support is extremely important. I would suggest again you thank your Martin & Indian River County Commissioners for their continuing efforts against the AAF project.
As always we encourage you to please feel free to share this information with as many people as you can. If you would like to review the comments submitted by CARE FL please go to our website; www.saveourfl.com or click on the link below:
http://www.saveourfl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CARE-FL-Comments-on-AAF-FEIS.pdf