Submission Number: UBR-DEIS-00407 -- Oral Comment at Public Meeting 

Received: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM
Commenter: Kerry Farrer
Organization: 
State: 

Agency: STB
Initiative: Uinta Basin Railway EIS
Attachments: No Attachments
Submission Text
Can you hear me?

[pause]

My name is Kerry Farrer.· I am an owner/operator K&B Contracting.· I'm a resident here in the basin.· I also own a nonprofit that helps run the Utah athletics programs here in the basin.· And I am head -- one of the head moderators of the American Nine, there is a group.· They are about 4,000 members. A majority of them live local here in the greater basin area.

I am in agreeance [sic] with the railroad. For one, I believe that the EIS -- that the members of the EIS are professionals.· I think they know what they're doing.· And I believe that this is something that we need.· It's no secret that the basin has been stagnant since before Covid-19.· Industry-wise, we need some sustainability and not just the oil field, but a window to get other industries in here to get growth.

For example, if I can get a car skipped on rail from Maine to Salt Lake for $500 but I have to pay a truck to haul it from Salt Lake City to Roosevelt for $1500.· And when it comes to stuff like that, this railway is going to open up the window for a lot of
small businesses.

You're going to get rid of the big corporate thumb that's on the neck of everybody out here, running, you know, keeping us -- you know, all our prices at a certain -- and the complication that we can't compete with them.

I believe that this rail is a safer means of transportation.· I've grown up here most of my life. If I grow up part of my life in Alaska, and so I know about pipelines.· And so I know the hazards of pipelines and how they go in.· And you read about those breaking.· And they're -- very, very seldom hear anything about a car -- a railcar derailing and spilling oil everywhere.· And when a pipeline breaks, it empties the pipeline on the ground.· I think this will be one of the best alternatives that we can have. I agree with -- the truck traffic is part of that. From living here, you can see when the air quality goes bad out here it's usually when the wind blows in from Salt Lake City.

The opportunities that it's going to bring for growth, we need them.· And I would ask that, you know, the people in charge don't let people that don't live here dictate how we need to grow or need to live. I don't believe that someone that has a vacation home should be able to come out here and say, "Hey, you guys, you can't do this," you know?· We got people that have been suffering, struggling.· We have companies that can't even -- that spent millions of dollars to help the environment to help local businesses.

[pause]

And all that goes away when the work goes down.· This gives us the opportunity for
growth, not just in the oil industry, but in other industries.· And I think that this is something that we need, and I am a big advocate for this.· I hope that this comes through.· And I hope that, you know, we can find the safest route.· We can find -- but work in
agreeance [sic] with most people that -- you know, not disturb other people.· And hopefully it's something that we can make up.· That's all I got.· So --

[pause]

Hello.· This is Terry Farrer again.· I would like to elaborate on this as far as the
truck traffic goes.

You know, where these proposed rails are, a lot of the oil fields are already out there.· So as far as the truck pollution the people might be worried about, a lot of that truck pollution stays off the main roads.· In the last couple of years, we have numerous trucks wreck spilling oil all across the basin.· And why anybody wouldn't want a safer means of transportation to get the oil out of here, for one.

Nobody feels that environmental risks or what they have going on is any less important than the next.· It's -- the difficult part for me to understand is how a few can say that they would want this when this could affect many as far as industry.· And there's been several industries unlike Carbon County with their rail that have wanted to come in here that have refused to come in here because we didn't have a rail, which is, you know, one of the main things of why people want it -- or would want the rail to get their industry in here is because it is cheaper to haul stuff in and out. And let's talk about the big corporations that we have.

Nufill [phonetic], before they sold to McCann [phonetic], spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in helping environmental problems getting rid of environmental problems and helping local issues, donated millions of dollars in the time that they have been here to do that.· And they left -- they sold out and left with a big corporate company because it just wasn't feasible for them to stay here.

And when it comes to stuff like that, if people can't open their eyes and see that that -- that this could be good for up and coming companies that are willing to do the same, then maybe they need to relook at what we have going on and how we've been sitting
stagnant for -- long, long before Covid.· That's all I got.· So, thanks.