| HOME
TABLE OF CONTENTS Smart Would Derail Eel River Salmon Recovery |
SMART WOULD DERAIL EEL RIVER SALMON RECOVERY It's a complicated tale, but we want voters in Sonoma and Marin to understand how SMART poses a threat to the Wild and Scenic Eel River. If Measure Q passes, its consequences would be felt not only in the North Bay but throughout the North Coast. Because SMART and the North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) would run on some of the same track, taxpayers in Marin and Sonoma would share the costs of maintaining the rail line. With the SMART tax, the NCRA would be able to reopen more than 300 miles of track to between Marin and Eureka to freight—including 50 miles that runs through a steep canyon within a stone's throw of the Eel River. The river canyon is famously rugged and prone to landslides. Derailments, track closures, and safety problems have plagued the railroad here since its inception. Over the years, the railroad spent millions to keep the line open through the canyon, but operations were halted in 1998 when winter storms finally washed out the tracks. The NCRA, a state agency, took over when the railroad failed, but has lacked funds to make repairs. It is under intense pressure to get the freight moving again. Freight operators and industry see the SMART tax as a way to get their freight back on track. Their plan calls for restoring freight service to an otherwise inaccessible hard rock open pit mine in the Eel River canyon. This 350 acre open pit mine would be the largest in California. There are no usable roads to the Island Mountain Quarry. The only way to remove the gravel is by rail. Six million tons of gravel a year could be hauled from the canyon via thousands of rail car trips along NCRA track—subsidized by SMART. Many question whether the operation would be economically feasible without SMART funds. Studies of gravel mining show that quarry operations are devastating fish populations. Once the mainstay of the North Coast, the Eel River salmon are today an endangered species. Decades of logging and mining in the watershed have destroyed spawning habitat. Water diversions from the Eel River to supply drinking water to Marin and Sonoma leave Eel salmon high and dry. Development and wine grapes further strain the river's ecosystem. Eel River salmon and steelhead, already pushed to the brink, may not recover if there is further damage to their habitat.. The NCRA's plan calls for freight service between Eureka and Marin. Trains would turn east along Highway 37 and connect to the national freight rail network in Lombard (Napa County). According to a U.S. Department of Energy plan, the entire NCRA track is the preferred route to transport nuclear waste from Humboldt Bay through California to Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Federal law will trump local control once the NRCA connects to the federal rail system. Voters should know what they're getting when it comes to Measure Q, including NCRA's relationship to the freight operators that want the track reopened, and the Island Mountain Mine. But the NCRA has refused to provide an Environmental Impact Report on its plan north of SMART. The City of Novato has filed a lawsuit against the NCRA and an alliance of North Coast groups including Friends of the Eel River, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), and Californians for Alternatives to Toxins (CATs), have filed an "amicus" brief in the case to demand this needed EIR. Quiet Zones for trains is only a minor issue in this legal action. We all recognize the need to reduce global warming and traffic congestion. But we need public transportation that serves the public, not that subsidizes industry fat cats or sacrifices our environment. Let's get back to the drawing board and come up with a transportation plan that truly meets the needs and values of people in Marin and Sonoma. |