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Federal Board Rejects Great Lakes Basin Rail Line |
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Citizens of Rock County Played Key
Role in Defeating Application |
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In a major victory for citizen advocacy, the Federal
Surface Transportation Board rejected an application
from the Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc., to build
a new rail line that would have run from Rock County,
Wisconsin through Illinois and ending in Indiana. The
new rail line would have extended 261 miles and
negatively impacted many rural farming areas in its
path. |
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For almost two years, impacted property owners and
citizens of surrounding communities in Rock County have
expressed a clear and comprehensive set of concerns to
the Federal Surface Transportation Board. Combined with
the efforts of communities in Illinois and Indiana, the
federal board could not ignore the significant flaws in
the proposal identified by citizens in all three states. |
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Based on the input of citizens, the Federal Surface
Transportation Board agreed with them and rejected the
application saying the company’s assets “are so clearly
deficient for purposes of building a 261-mile rail line
that the board will not proceed with this application
given the impacts on stakeholders and the demands upon
the board’s resources.” |
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I also wish to commend State Representative Amy
Loudenbeck (31st Assembly District) for leading the
state legislative response to this ill-conceived
proposal. As a part of this process, Representative Loudenbeck has identified some potential changes to
state law in relation to the condemnation authority that
can be utilized in railroad projects. The current law
lacks appropriate balance and protections for property
owners. I have agreed to co-author this proposal in the
State Senate. |
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It is possible the company could submit a new
application for the Great Lakes Basin Rail Line to the
federal board, but the company’s current financial
circumstances and the strength of citizen opposition
makes such an effort even more difficult with a second
application. |
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