U. S. Surface Transportation Board Office of Environmental Analysis Issues Final Scope of Study for Environmental Impact Statement on Green Eagle Railroad and Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
U. S. Surface Transportation Board Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) Director Danielle Gosselin announced on Monday, July 8, 2024, the Final Scope of Study that will be done “in connection with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being prepared for Green Eagle Railroad, LLC’s proposed construction and operation of an approximately 1.3 mile rail line [and bridge] in Maverick County, Texas (the Line). The [Green Eagle Railroad] Line would be part of the proposed Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge project, consisting of a new trade corridor for freight rail and commercial vehicles between Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and Eagle Pass, Texas, United States.”
The Surface Transportation Board Office of Environmental Analysis held two public hearings in Eagle Pass, Texas on April 16, 2024, one from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a second from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and a third public hearing online on April 23, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in order to take public scoping comments concerning the proposed Green Eagle Railroad Line and Bridge and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge, a commercial vehicle bridge, proposed to be constructed and operated by a private for-profit company, Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC, under the sponsorship of Maverick County, Texas.
An overwhelming number of Eagle Pass and Maverick County citizens who presented their public comments at these OEA public scoping hearings vehemently opposed the proposed location of both the Green Eagle Railroad Line and Bridge and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, just north of the city limits of Eagle Pass along Seco Creek in the Seco Mines area and Elm Creek in the Hopedale area, respectively.
Although the proposed Green Eagle Railroad Line and Bridge and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge project have received a Presidential Permit from President Joe Biden to construct and operate these two bridges in Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas on May 31, 2024 under a permit issued to Maverick County, Texas with certain restrictions, the Surface Transportation Board Office of Environmental Analysis is required to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement for the construction and operation of a new common carrier railroad line and bridge under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related environmental laws, including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The Surface Transportation Board is the federal agency responsible for determining whether to grant Green Eagle Railroad a license to construct and operate a new railroad common carrier line and bridge.
Separately from the Surface Transportation Board’s final decision on Green Eagle Railroad’s request for authority to construct and operate the new railroad line, the proposed two bridges require permits form the U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In addition, the Green Eagle Railroad Line and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project requires authorization from the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to ensure that the Green Eagle Railroad line and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project do not obstruct the normal flow or flood flows of the Rio Grande River. The U. S. Coast Guard will be a Cooperating Agency in preparing the Environmental Impact Statement.
Since the Surface Transportation Board authority is required for the construction of a new common carrier railroad line such as the Green Eagle Railroad Line, the Board will review Green Eagle Railroad’s request for authority to construct and operate the railroad line through two parallel but distinct processes: 1) whether the Green Eagle Railroad Line satisfies the criteria for an exemption under Section 10502; and 2) the environmental review process that is being conducted by the Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis.
All interested persons and entities in either, or both, processes have interest in and focus on the potential environmental and historical impacts on the communities, such as noise, vibration, air emissions, grade crossing safety and delay, emergency vehicle access, and other similar environmental issue may participate in the environmental review process.
In addition, the U. S. Coast Guard is required to issue a decision on a proposed Federal action whether to grant or deny Green Eagle Railroad’s request for a permit to construct and operate the proposed bridges across the Rio Grande River. Permits will also be required from teh U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the International Boundary Water Commission. The Environmental Impact Statement will analyze the impacts of constructing and operating the Green Eagle Railroad Line as well as other parts of the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project.
The Environmental Impact Statement will analyze and compare the potential impacts of construction and operation of the Green Eagle Railroad Line and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project, reasonable alternative routes, and the No-Action Alternative (denial of construction and operation authority). The Environmental Impact Statement will analyze in detail two proposed alternatives for the Green Eagle Railroad Line: 1) Proposed Action/Southern Rail Alternative; and 2) the Northern Rail Alternative. A map of both alternatives is available on the Board’s website at: www.greeneaglerreis.com.
The Environmental Impact Statement will review certain categories of issues in the Final Scope of Study, including the following: 1) Freight Rail Safety; 2) Grade Crossing Safety; 3) Grade Crossing Delay; 4) Roadway Safety; 5) Roadway Capacity; 6) Noise and Vibration; 7) Air Quality and Climate Change; 8) Energy; 9) Geology and Soils; 10) Cultural Resources; 11) Hazardous Materials Release Sites; 12) Biological Resources; 13) Water Resources; 14) Land Use; 15) Socioeconomics; 16) Visual Resources; 17) Environmental Justice; 18) Cumulative Impacts; 19) Transboundary Impacts; and 20) Mitigation Measures.
For more information regarding the Surface Transportation Board Offie of Environmental Analysis’s Environmental Impact Statement, please contact Andrea Poole, Office of Environmental Analysis, Surface Transportation Board, c/o VHB, 1001 G Street NW, Suite 1125, Washington, D. C. 2001; send an email to: contact@greeneaglerreis.com; call (202) 934-3330; or call OEA’s toll free number (888) 319-2337. Please reference Docket No. FD 36652 in all communications.
Despite having obtained a Presidential Permit to construct and operate the Green Eagle Railroad Line and Bridge and the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project, Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC is required to obtain the license from the Surface Transportation Board to construct and operate the Green Eagle Railroad Line, authorization from the U. S. Coast Guard, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and International Boundary and Water Commission to operate the railroad line and the two international bridges. Interested citizens and entities may participate in all of these pending proceedings that will ultimately decide the fate of the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project in Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas.
