Hundreds oppose rail line for Levy nuclear plant
Last Modified: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 6:25 p.m.
“The truth is, we heard Progress Energy’s canned speech to the community,” said Ted Medlin, whose property abuts the proposed rail line. He heads the Rainbow River Railroad Committee, which is opposed to the line.
“They were very non-specific answers to our questions,” he said. “ They were ambiguous.”
Carla Groleau, Progress Energy’s manager of community relations, told the crowd of about 265 area residents that the company is still “early in the process” of deciding where to put the line but is considering building a 13-mile industrial rail spur to connect the proposed two-unit Levy County nuclear plant with an existing CSX line. That line crosses U.S. 41 just north of Jan’s Nursery in Dunnellon.
“This industrial rail spur is to be used during construction of the new power plant, the new nuclear plants,” Groleau said. “When economically feasible, we want to use rail.”
Construction of the plant – which the company has not yet formally committed to building – is expected to start in 2010 and end in 2015.
The news of the rail line does not sit well with area residents, particularly those who live near the line, but also those who have concerns about the frequency of the trains, the cargo that would be carried, possible traffic delays and impacts on emergency vehicles. They also expressed environmental concerns.
Medlin and his wife, Shirley, have collected about 800 signatures in opposition to the rail line, which would pass about 200 feet from their swimming pool. He and others who live near the line are concerned about their property value declining.
Gail Simpson, Progress Energy’s manager of public policy, said the company does not provide compensation unless they buy easements but there were “avenues” to take if someone felt they had a claim.
Nuclear and Indigenous Items of Interest 
something 4 passing the time. SYS