The federal government cannot afford to hold a public meeting in Porter County for residents protesting an $8 billion railroad line proposed to cut through Northwest Indiana.
David Navecky, an official with the Surface Transportation Board, the agency investigating the environmental impact of the Great Lakes Basin Rail Line, wrote Porter County Commissioner Laura Shurr Blaney this week their travel budget prohibits a trip to the county.
Porter residents are invited to attend these meetings: April 12 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, 17401 Morse St., in Lowell; April 13 at the American Legion Banquet Hall, 203 S. Washington St., Wanatah, in LaPorte County and April 14 at the Civic Auditorium Banquet Room, 1001 Ridge St., LaPorte. All start at 5:30 p.m.
Blaney said this schedule is an undue burden on her constituents. "We deserve a meeting convenient to our residents."
She said the county is willing to waive its use fee on the Porter County Expo Center near Valparaiso to host a meeting, she hadn't yet heard a response to the invitation.
Porter County residents are invited to a meeting of a Residents Against Invasion of Land by Eminent Domain (RAILED), which is hosting an informational and organizational meeting 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Morgan Township School, 299 S. Ind. 49, south of Valparaiso.
Great Lakes Basin Transportation has proposed a private train line that would loop 278 miles from LaPorte to Milton, Wisconsin, to offer freight trains a route around congested lines in the Chicago area.
The rail line could result in the closure of some rural roads and eventually allow up to 110 trains daily. Construction of the rail line could begin in 18 months.
The Surface Transportation Board scheduled a total of nine meetings in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Navecky notes in an email to Blaney, "I assure you that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) wants to hear from the residents of Porter County. However, considering the STB's limited travel budget ... we were unable to locate scoping meetings in each potentially affected community or each of the 11 counties through which the proposed rail line could be located."