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<br />PASADENA <br /> <br />~ITIZ] <br /> <br />It's Tuesday, <br />October 26, 2004 <br /> <br />-UP,BNSF must be on track <br />- Ot" ... I. .. " T 1.'- <br />_Wl_D raIl p_ans oy f'JOV$ ---~ <br /> <br />By SYDNEY IGLEHEART <br />CItizen Reporter <br /> <br />House Majority Leader Tom <br />DeLay and Houston Mayor Bill <br />White met with the rail companies <br />-and officials from the Surface <br />Transportation Board to find a <br />solution to the controversial San <br />-Jacinto. Rail line p(Oposed for the <br />Clear,Lake area. <br />"After nearly two . years, the <br />companies have agreed to move <br />-forward... we have created a plan of <br />lction," DeLay said. <br />That plan asks that Union <br />-?acific and Burlington Northern <br />~anta Fe decide what will happen <br />with the San Jacinto Rail line by <br />...,Nov. 15. <br />In September of this year, dur- <br />.ng a visit Withe Area <br />Houston Economi . Allian ,White <br />-laid that he has ''Wor 00 on (the <br />'a,il . is~ue) every<hlY" and sees a <br />solution on the horizon. <br />_ DeLay said after a lawsuit <br />lrought by Clear Lake halting the <br />.:onstruction of the rail line, the <br />two companies were intending to <br />-legotiate a solution to community <br />md industry concerns. However, <br />according to DeLay, "nothing was <br />~etting done." <br />"Both companies have pres- <br />sures they must deal with, and both <br />.l1ad good ideas for solving the <br />,roblem;' DeLay said. "They also <br />.:now that I have legislative options <br />that I can use to solve the prob- <br /> <br />.....~m." <br /> <br />The plans for the construction of <br />the 13-mile rail line in southeast <br />...!fouston were announced in <br />mgust 2001 by San Jacinto Rail <br /> <br />Limited. After the announcement, <br />citizens and elected officials cried <br />out in opposition to the proposed <br />rail line. <br />San Jacinto Rail Limited justi- <br />fied the construction saying it <br />would "create competitive rail ser- <br />vice for plastics and chemical <br />industry shippers in the Bayport <br />Industrial Distri(;t." <br />Th~,propOSed line - would _ be. <br />o~J)y.BNSF and would run <br />just southbfEllington .Field and <br />extend to the end of the Bayport <br />Industrial District, just east of <br />State Highway 146. Some residents <br />said the trains carrying chemicals <br />would be too close for collifort. <br />The estimated construction cost <br />of the project is $80 million, which <br />includes construction of six public <br />road crossings, including an over- <br />pass for Red Bluff Road, to handle <br />traffic safely. <br />Representatives of communities <br />and organizations within the pro- <br />ject area expressed interest in hay. <br />ing an Environmental ImpaCt <br />Statement prepared for the project. <br />San Jacinto Rail and. BNSF fully <br />supported this request and had no <br />objection to an EIS. <br />The statement revealed "no sig- <br />nificant impact on the human envi- <br />ronment." <br />One solution to environmental <br />concerns would be for UP to allow <br />BNSF to access UP's rail for their <br />own transportation. However, with <br />competition fierce between the two <br />rails this has caused the lengthy and <br />difficult negotiation. <br />"It's up to those two parties...1 <br />would prefer not to (use my legal <br />options)," DeLay said. <br /> <br /> <br />The proposed San Jacinto Rail line has area residents concerned abou <br />the new rail's environmental impact. <br />