RTP Advocacy

July 12, 2017
Statement on the decision by the FRA, from Claudia Weicker, chair of the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center
The decision by the Federal Railroad Administration to abandon the proposed Connecticut-Rhode Island bypass of its Northeast Corridor project in favor of having state officials study an alternative route is a considerable victory for conservation and environmental protection in southeastern Connecticut.
In comments opposing this proposal, the Connecticut Audubon Society pointed out that the FRA’s Preferred Alternative ignored the impact on four endangered or threatened species: Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon, Roseate Terns, and Piping Plover.

Based on that flaw, Connecticut Audubon called for further study of the route through southeastern Connecticut, and for greater involvement by local officials and residents.

The Hartford Courant, CT Mirror, and New Haven Register included excerpts of our statement in their breaking news stories about the decision.
The decision has taken into account the opposition of residents of the area and the concerns of the Town of Old Lyme, which issued an 82-page report on the proposal that included an environmental assessment prepared by the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center.

February 20, 2017
For immediate release

Old Lyme, Conn. – The final environmental study of the proposed Northeast Corridor rail project inadequately analyzes the risk to at least four federally endangered or threatened fish and birds in Connecticut. As a result, the study fails to assess the true impact the rail line would have on southeastern Connecticut and the Connecticut River Estuary.

In a four-page letter to the Federal Railroad Administration, the Connecticut Audubon Society noted that in the year between the release of the draft environmental review and the final environmental review, in December 2016, the FRA revised the rail proposal to include a tunnel under the Connecticut River and Old Lyme.
Read the Connecticut Audubon Society’s letter to the Federal Railroad Administration

The Connecticut section of the rail line is part of a proposal for $120 billion in rail improvements from Washington D.C. to Boston.

The final environmental review fails to take a hard look at the tunnel proposal and instead raises new and substantial questions.

The letter, signed by Connecticut Audubon Executive Director Nelson North, states: “It is impossible to say with certainty what will be affected. What we can say is that the Connecticut River Estuary and the supporting environments all constitute one of the richest, and biologically diverse environments in North America for flora and fauna and mankind.”