Regarding “Protect historic Chelatchie Railroad” (“Our Readers’ Views, April 15), let me be unequivocal: We all agree the Chelatchie Railroad is beloved by all, and if you haven’t experienced its Christmas run, you’re missing out.
However, those individuals who are advocating for the county to limit the Freight Rail Dependent Uses zoning and rid the county of the rogue operator are not NIMBYs. Our issue is that an out-of-county operator refuses to comply with environmental laws while wanting to haul a million tons of gravel dug from a pristine environment along our most sensitive river, through the heart of Battle Ground, and across our neighborhoods and zone the entire 33 miles of railroad for heavy industrial use.
Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad, claiming the use of “best practices,” ignores all local, state and federal environmental regulations to the point where two federal agencies have jointly issued a cease-and-desist order, and the state Department of Ecology issued an administrative order of noncompliance. Yet, the letter regurgitates the same tired rhetoric of job creation with no supporting evidence.
Again, we are not NIMBYs. We are a broad-based group of citizens working to protect our community, our environment and our neighborhoods from those who couldn’t care less about us.
