CSX plans worry parents

[OwlCaboose2853]

CSX plans worry parents
New rail yard would be close to St. Clair Township school
http://www.thetimesherald.com/news/stor ... 07431.html (photos)

By JOSEPH DEINLEIN
Times Herald


ST. CLAIR TWP. -- Sixth-grader Mackenzie Joachim and hundreds of other children at St. Clair Middle School attend class across Yankee Road from where CSX Transportation plans to relocate a rail-switching yard from Port Huron.

Those plans have her mother, Suzanne Joachim, other parents, residents and officials worried about the possibility of accidents and the safety of their children and neighborhoods.

"If there's a spill or something, who knows what could happen?" Suzanne Joachim said.

CSX's plans became public last month after the city of St. Clair approved a new office building for the company adjacent to the city's industrial park. The yard, most of which is in the township, would be used to switch freight, including chemicals and plastics, daily to local trains for delivery.

Local governments have no control over the railroad because it is federally regulated. The Federal Railroad Administration makes inspections to ensure the company complies with federal laws. But that's not until after the yard has been built, said Steven Kulm, the administration's public affairs director.

Up to 100 train cars could be in the yard for up to two days. Operations would run from morning through the evening. The new yard at the two-mile site between Yankee and Davis roads would replace a small switching yard near Davis Road and a single track.

Aside from the middle school, hundreds of homes in neighborhoods are east of the tracks.

Coming from

The switching yard is being moved from Port Huron as part of a deal with Acheson Ventures, which bought the 10-acre yard in June 2003 for its Desmond Landing project along the St. Clair River. According to tax records, the development company, started by philanthropist Jim Acheson, paid $1 million for the land.

Paul Maxwell, Acheson Ventures spokesman, said the deal included relocation fees and other costs for CSX, which could exceed $5 million.

CSX is expected to vacate the property by July. Acheson Ventures hopes to build a marina on the site, Maxwell said. Work could start this fall. The Desmond Landing project could take a decade for full completion.

Going to

St. Clair Area Fire Authority Chief Bill Beaudua, who has met with CSX officials, is concerned the fire department does not have enough equipment were a disaster to happen in the new yard.

"If you get a fire up there (in the St. Clair Township yard), I'm afraid you're going to have to evacuate for miles around," Beaudua said.

There are no plans for hydrants in the yard. A single hydrant would be located at the planned CSX building on Yankee Road, but it would not have enough pressure to fight a fire. Beaudua said things are different in Port Huron, where the St. Clair River bounds the east side of the tracks and city fire hydrants with adequate pressure are to the west.

State standards recommend 1,500 gallons per minute from the hydrant, but the St. Clair hydrant only would be capable of a little more than 1,300. City Superintendent Pat Sullivan said there are plans to build a water tank for the area, increasing pressure, but nothing is expected until companies move into the industrial park.

Tom Drake, CSX regional vice president of public affairs, said the company is willing to listen and try to address local concerns. And he notes the company has a good national safety record.

"I told (residents and officials) we're looking at all of their suggestions, and our engineers are going to try to decide which can reasonably be implemented and have the satisfactory result to meet their concerns," Drake said.

The last accident associated with the Port Huron yard was in March 2000 when six residences were evacuated after a tanker carrying propane jumped the tracks west of Military Street. No chemicals were spilled.

Dealing with

The rail yard plans have parents of students at the middle school unnerved.

"I don't think I would want it there from the parents' perspective," said Liza Davis of East China Township, whose children, Kaitlyn and Bradley, are in the sixth and seventh grades, respectively.

Mike Hermesmeyer said he's opposed to the yard.

"The fire department says it can't handle a fire there," said the Yankee Road resident whose son, Patrick, is in the seventh grade. "It's ridiculous it would be this distance from a middle school."

The project has sparked confrontation between township and city officials over whether the city properly approved the new building.

Township Supervisor Sandra Kilby said she hopes to derail the project. The township board this week invoked a clause in a land agreement between the township and city that could revert the 114-acre industrial park, transferred to the city in 2000, back to the township.

Township officials say the city didn't follow development guidelines and other regulations, which were part of the land-transfer deal, when approving the building. City officials said the building met all guidelines.

"I personally will take it as high as it will go to ensure the quality of life in our township," Kilby said. "I've taken an oath to do that."