The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) is pleased to provide you with information containing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the analysis of the propopsed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad by Canadian National Railway and Grand Trunk Corporation (Applicants).
Click here to view the Draft EIS.

This Draft EIS analyzes the environmental impacts that might occur if the Applicants were to acquire and operate trains over the EJ&E Railroad, an approximately 200-mile long railroad that forms an arc from the northwest to the southeast suburbs of Chicago, approximately 40 miles outside the city. The potential environmental impacts to both the human and the natural environments that could result from the proposed acquisition are compared to the environmental impacts of continuing rail operations on the EJ&E rail line and the five CN rail lines that feed into Chicago.

The Draft EIS also sets forth SEA's preliminary recommended improvement, Applicants' voluntary reduction measures, and encourages mutually acceptable negotiated agreements to lessen adverse environmental impacts should the Board approve this acquisition. The Draft EIS reflects the active participation of members of the public in the Chicagoland area and beyond.

Public hearings will be held the weeks of August 25th and September 8th. A paper copy is available in every community along the EJ&E rail line. A list of the locations can be found on the project website at click here.

The date and location in Matteson, Illinois is as follows :

Monday August 25, 2008
Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center
500 Holiday Plaza Drive
Matteson, IL 60443

Open House 4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. will be available to answer questions and help members of the public review project maps and other findings of the Draft EIS an analysis.

Public Meeting 6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Staff from the Board and HDR, Inc. will make a short presentation to the public and will then be available to the receive formal comments on the Draft EIS. This portion of the meeting will be held for purposes of receiving comment. It is not a question-and-answer session.

Speaker registration will be determined on a first come first serve basis by calling the hotline to pre-register in advance (1-800-347-0689) or at the sign-in tables the day of the public meeting. Each speaker will be allowed up to three minutes her or his comments.

In addition to speaking the public meetings, comments on the DEIS may be submitted through the following methods:

• Written Letter - Please submit to:
  Phillis Johnson-Ball
  Surface Transportation Board
  395 E Street, SW
  Washington DC, 20423
  Ref: STB Finance Docket No. 35087