County may sue to block rail yard

County may sue to block rail yard NS has ruled out Salem for the site; a supervisor said Montgomery County doesn't want it. By Tim Thornton 381-1669 Norfolk Southern Corp.'s intermodal rail yard isn't coming to Salem, and Montgomery County may sue if it comes to Elliston. That's what Montgomery County Supervisor Gary Creed said Saturday. He also said that state Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer told him to keep the site selection information under his hat. "I'm not sure it should stay there," Creed said. "It's kind of an important thing." Supervisors discussed the possibility of a lawsuit in a closed session Feb. 25. They have not voted to sue, Creed said, but, "Everybody's in agreement." The Roanoke Region Intermodal Facility, which was announced 22 months ago, is part of the Heartland Corridor plan, which aims to move doubled-stacked freight containers between Columbus, Ohio, and Norfolk faster and more efficiently. An intermodal rail yard transfers trailer-sized containers between trucks and rail cars. There has been no official site announcement and Homer said Saturday that no decision has been made. Del. Dave Nutter, R-Christiansburg, said Homer told him he hadn't been "released" to approve the Elliston site, but Homer made it clear to Nutter there are fundamental issues with other sites. The state paid NS more than $200,000 to conduct detailed engineering reviews of three sites -- sites the company had already evaluated before choosing Elliston. "I would feel more comfortable if we had some outside engineering," Nutter said. Homer said Saturday there are "significant cost and operational issues" at potential sites in Salem and Roanoke County. The Elliston site's issues are related to cost, not operations, he said. One of the potential costs at Elliston is improving North Fork Road (Virginia 603) between U.S. 11/460 and Interstate 81. Nutter said that would cost about $15 million. Cove Hollow Road, which runs across the property where NS wants to build, would have to be rerouted to accommodate the facility. A bridge would have to be built across the South Fork of the Roanoke River. "You can't expect Montgomery County to pay for that stuff," Nutter said. The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has passed three resolutions opposing the Elliston site. They also passed a resolution supporting Nutter's failed attempt to prevent state money from being spent on the facility unless it is built in Salem. Fifteen elected leaders from Franklin County to Covington signed a letter supporting the intermodal rail yard, but only Salem officials have volunteered to host the facility. Salem Mayor Howard Packett said it has been months since the city has heard from Norfolk Southern. "As long as it's somewhere in the Roanoke Valley, we're fine with that," Salem spokeswoman Melinda Payne said about Salem being ruled out as a site for the intermodal rail yard. Roanoke County has made it clear it has no interest in hosting the facility. Residents of Salem and Montgomery County have opposed the proposed sites vigorously. Montgomery County's Citizens for the Preservation of Our Countryside urged supervisors to pass an ordinance making it illegal for corporations to use eminent domain; declaring "natural communities and ecosystems" to be legal "persons" and declaring that corporations are not "persons" in Montgomery County. It would forbid corporations -- along with their agents, directors, officers, owners or managers -- from contributing to political candidates in the county. It would also make it illegal for corporations to sue for "future profits." The board did not adopt the ordinance, saying it would not survive a legal challenge. Now the board seems willing to go to court on the strength of language in a contract between the state and NS that seems to say the project will abide by local law. The intermodal yard would not comply with local zoning, but federal law gives railroads the power to override local land-use regulations. And, like local governments, railroads have the power of eminent domain, which means they can take property even if owners are unwilling to sell. The Heartland Corridor is supposed to take about 200,000 trucks off Virginia's roads. But it's likely to increase truck traffic on Interstate 81 and other roads near the site, according to a recently released state-funded report. The report said the facility could "negatively impact local residents because of increased congestion-related air pollution, scenic alterations, light pollution, or water quality changes." Congress has appropriated almost $100 million for the corridor, with more than $5 million of that to be spent in Virginia. NS is expected to contribute $9.6 million for related projects in the commonwealth. Public funding would be recovered in about five years, according to the report, mostly through reduced accident costs and pavement maintenance costs. The study said the freight yard would create eight to 12 jobs and add $3.5 million to $5.3 million to the regional economy annually. That covers nine counties and five cities, from Lynchburg to Radford, from Franklin County to Monroe County, W.Va. The study also said related development would create 740 to 2,900 jobs; put $140 million to $550 million into the economy each year; and generate $18 million to $71 million annually in taxes. In addition, the facility's construction would add $38.6 million to $57.9 million to the economy. State officials fear the wrangling could cause Virginia to lose the intermodal site and its potential economic benefits to West Virginia or Tennessee. Staff writers Marquita Brown and Michael Sluss contributed to this report.