Coordination Works | Margaret Byfield | December 19, 2011

Fueled by President Obama’s vision to build High Speed Rail systems in America, California has been working quickly to pass the necessary environmental clearances and start phase one of their statewide project.  The proposed California High Speed Rail system would carry passengers from the San Francisco Bay area to Los Angeles through the productive Central Valley at a targeted speed of 220 miles per hour. Phase two would add Sacramento and San Diego into the system.

California’s statewide environmental impact statement was approved by the Federal Rail Administration in 2005.  Since then, they have segmented the route into eight major sections for which they have begun preparing more detailed environmental studies as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California’s version of the federal act, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  As each segment is studied and approved, they will have the environmental clearance they need to begin construction on that segment, pending financial resources from the state and federal governments.

The California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is the state agency charged with designing and building the project.  They claim it is the largest transportation project being pursued in America today.  Common sense would dictate that the first place to begin the experimental plan would be in either of the major metropolitan areas of San Francisco or Los Angeles, where the people who will ride the rail live.  San Francisco appears to be the best place to start as residents already depend on public and private transportation modes. 

Locals commute to work daily by ferry, the BART commuter rail system which reaches 18 surrounding communities, and the historical cable cars, as well as, private taxi cabs.  

The least favorable place to begin such an ambitious plan where ridership is key to demonstrating the project could be feasible, would be in the middle of the Central Valley.  Here the population is the lowest on the route and is currently fully dependent on the automobile for its transportation needs.  However, it is here, the South San Joaquin Valley, where the Authority has placed its marker to start.

The first two studies up for approval cover the route from Merced to Bakersfield.  The Authority has released their segment Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEIS) for both sections.  Originally only allowing 45 days of public comment on both these studies, each document containing 20,000 to 30,000 pages, they extended this period to 60 days, a period now closed.  They anticipate issuing approval for the segments at the first of the year, a deadline they need to reach in order to secure the first wave of federal dollars.

These two segments are located in the most rural counties on the route with the highest poverty levels and the largest percentage of productive agriculture lands.  Local’s suspect the reason they were targeted is because they were perceived to be the least able to fight back.  Fortunately, on each of these two segments organized landowners and committed elected officials have stepped forward and insisted the Authority coordinate the study with the local governments they represent.

For the Fresno to Bakersfield segment it has been the Kings County Board of Supervisors flanked by an accomplished County Attorney, Land Use Planner and Administrator among other key personnel who have raised opposition to the High Speed Rail project.  They are supported by the Kings County Farm Bureau, whose former Executive Director, Diana Peck, introduced them to the coordination strategy.

For the Merced to Fresno study, four school districts and a water district have stepped forward to challenge the Authority’s plan.  They were introduced to coordination by long-time ASL member Millie Meders, who helped form the landowners group, Preserve Our Heritage, which gives the districts the much needed support.

California’s Central Valley is the most productive agricultural region in our nation that according to Sauver Magazine provides half of America’s population with its fruits, vegetables, nuts and other crops.  Special refrigerated train cars leave the valley daily to deliver the freshest foods to America’s finest restaurants in New York, Boston and other locations.  The agricultural importance of this valley cannot be understated.

Fresno to Bakersfield
The goal of the High Speed Rail is to accommodate future anticipated growth and transportation needs.  Using Smart Growth principles, the Authority plans to attract new development along its routes concentrating it around their train stations.  Counties like Kings County have been preparing for years for the anticipated growth very carefully protecting their agricultural lands and the productive use of the lands upon which their economy and way of life is based.  The rail Authority, however, has completely ignored Kings County’s plans and believes instead that they know what is best for the people who live there.  As the preferred route makes its way through this part of the Valley, it veers off the existing corridors in violation of the voters mandate approving development of the rail.  It plows a new corridor through this productive region and places one of the critical stations in prime farmland.

Kings County has objected and insisted that the Authority consider the County’s Comprehensive Plan and policies and develop an alternative that resolves the conflicts between the two.  Kings County does not want to see its productive farmland paved over as has been the fate of so many other prime agricultural lands in our nation.

Thanks to Diana Peck and the Kings County Farm Bureau, Kings County has insisted the Authority coordinate the project.  Kings County Supervisors have held two coordination meetings with the Authority and written two hard-hitting letters to the Federal Rail Administration pointing out the flaws and failings of their environmental study.  

Neither the California Authority nor the Federal Rail Administration have taken into account the local impacts the people will suffer if the project moves forward, a duty required under the federal environmental law.  Kings County has insisted that Federal Rail withdraw the Fresno to Bakersfield study and start over, this time in coordination with the County.  

The Authority has not withdrawn the study, but has agreed to prepare a supplemental study considering an additional route through Kings County.  Pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers convinced them to take a new look.  Importantly, the delay gives the County the opportunity to further point out the flaws in their plan.

Merced to Fresno
Situated in the middle of the Merced to Fresno rail segment is the farming community of Chowchilla.  Backed by the Preserve Our Heritage organization, the Chowchilla Union High School District and Alview-Dairyland Union School District held their first coordination meeting with the Authority November 29th.  The meeting was six and a half hours long and attended by three project directors from the Authority who answered hard-hitting questions from District members.  Representing the Districts were all ten board members, three superintendents, the Chowchilla Fire Chief, Directors of the Chowchilla High Transportation Department and Special Needs Office, as well as myself.

Chowchilla is “Ground Zero” for the rail.  They are in the unique position of potentially hosting the critical “WYE” section of the line; the location where the North-South alignment from Sacramento to Los Angeles and the East-West alignment from San Francisco to Los Angeles come together.  This now quiet community will be divided by three separate corridors allowing the trains to change direction without stopping.  

Approximately every seven minutes, a train will pass through their community at an average speed of 220 miles per hour making the noise equivalent to that of a jet airplane flying directly overhead.  Chowchilla will suffer all of the impact and receive none of the benefit, as no station is planned for their area, just the condemnation of their land, division of their community, and loss of the rural quality of life.

The Chowchilla School District will be cut into thirds.  The Alview-Dairyland District could potentially lose half their students, most of which is through the condemnation of students homes, depending on the route selected.  For both Districts, critical bus routes will be cut off raising their current transportation costs by a minimum of 25%.  Some students will have to be picked up as early as 5:45 a.m. to make their 8:10 class time.  Special Needs students, who won’t be able to adjust to the disruptive noise patterns of the jet-like trains, will need to be moved to other schools at the Districts’ expense, estimated to cost $30,000 a year per student.  Over 70 percent of the students that attend these schools qualify for free or reduced meals, making getting these kids to school all that more important.

None of these concerns were considered or studied by the Authority.  In fact, it wasn’t until the District’s coordination meeting that the Authority was made aware of the impacts they were creating in these rural communities. At the conclusion of the meeting, the School Districts requested that the Authority prepare a supplemental study for the Merced to Fresno DEIS in coordination with the School Districts where they can consider and resolve these local impacts.

The day following the School Districts’ coordination meeting, the Authority staff made a surprising announcement.  They had decided to recommend to the California High Speed Rail Commission that the entire Chowchilla WYE area be removed from the Merced to Fresno DEIS.  

The Authority had informed the School Districts the day prior that they would soon be making their recommendation on a preferred alignment to the California High Speed Rail Commission which must approve their selection.  They were planning to do this prior to the next Commissioner’s meeting scheduled for December 13th.  However, there was no indication that the Authority had changed its mind and would be removing the entireChowchilla area from the Merced study.  

That decision was announced the next day in meetings with stakeholders and the impacted cities some of which were hastily arranged that morning.  It was during these meetings that the Authority announced the change.  The Chowchilla WYE area would be considered in a later segment study called the San Jose east-west alignment where the full impact of all the routes could be analyzed together.  The Authority’s decision leaves a 20-mile gap in the North-South alignment.

The Authority’s announcement indicates they understood one of the major arguments made by the School Districts the day before: the entire WYE connection should be studied together so that the full cumulative impacts of the project on the school districts would be properly evaluated.  The San Jose segment study is expected to be released late next year. This will give the Authority more time to consider the Chowchilla School District’s concerns and more opportunities to properly coordinate.

It is a huge victory for the Chowchilla Schools and the Preserve Our Heritage organization.  The Authority has taken a major step back in a project most believed was impossible to challenge.  After all, the school districts were up against the President’s prized project, the mandate of the Federal Rail Administration, and a powerful state agency driven to build the rail.  

Nevertheless, the School District representatives never gave up.  It took a letter to the Authority and the Governor and intersession by their state representative to bring the Authority to the table.  Once there, the School District Directors and Staff insisted the Authority consider the adverse impacts that would harm the people they represent.

The Authority’s changed position happened because every member representing the schools during the coordination meeting was prepared, poignant, specific, and articulate in their comments and questions to the Authority.  After the meeting, the Merced to Fresno project manager commented on how productive the meeting was.  As an engineer he was learning of unique impacts never before considered and was thankful to be a part of the discussion.  

The fight is far from over for Kings County and the Chowchilla Districts, but they have already gained critical ground – delay and opportunity for their local impacts to be considered and resolved by the Authority as required by law.  Now, we have a chance to move politics aside and let well-informed educators and local elected officials through the coordination process insist the law be complied with, and the people impacted respected.