Howard Lawmakers Say CSX Has Failed to Provide Information

Five members of the Elkridge community appeared in Annapolis Wednesday to ask the Howard County Delegation to spare their neighborhood from a freight facility.

Since last March, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and CSX have been evaluating four sites for a cargo hub called an “intermodal” facility where trains and trucks can exchange freight. One of the sites is in Hanover.

Drew Roth, who lives near the Hanover site on Race Road, testified before the Howard County Delegation Feb. 8 that CSX and MDOT were not being transparent with the public.

“Because the state is funding half the project, you our representatives are in a position to influence this process to make sure the impact on residents is properly taken into account during the site selection,” said Roth, chair of the Greater Elkridge Community Association's (GECA) Intermodal Committee, a group working to protect the neighborhood from what one committee member  a "behemoth."

The intermodal project is a public-private partnership between MDOT and CSX in which each party has agreed to pay $75 million to build the facility, which it hopes to have completed by 2015.

Greater Elkridge residents, who have stated their tax dollars are going into this project, said they wondered how CSX came up with the following cost estimates for the four sites it is evaluating, estimates that showed building in Hanover would be the least expensive option and building in Jessup (where Roth noted there are no residences nearby) would be the most expensive:

• Beltsville: $175–$200 million
• Hanover: $140–$165 million
• Jessup: $300–$325 million
• Montevideo: $200–$225 million

GECA has asked for more information on the numbers since they were released .

"MDOT and CSX have not agreed to provide us with sets of data," said Roth.

Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Howard/Carroll) said he shared the Elkridge community's frustration.

"I have concerns about this too....I would like to know all the information before I make a decision on the budget," said Kittleman, a member of Maryland's Finance Committee.

Kittleman was not the only elected official who said he was feeling frustrated.

"It's very difficult to get information about it," added Del. Steven DeBoy (D-Howard/Baltimore), stating that he contacted U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to find out whether there was a different approach he could take with CSX.

Del. Gail Bates (R-Howard) asked whether CSX cited a reason it would not offer more explanation for the site analysis data.

"No," said Roth. "They just said they weren't going to."

Del. Liz Bobo (D-Howard) asked whether Howard County was looking into the cost issue.

"The county executive is seeking the same information that GECA is," said David Nitkin, the representative for County Executive Ken Ulman. "We have requested it and are still waiting...."

Sitting in the row behind Nitkin at the Feb. 8 delegation meeting was Leif Dormsjo, MDOT's senior advisor. He was not addressed during the conversation.

After the meeting, Dormsjo declined to comment to Patch.

CSX provided Patch with this statement from company spokesperson Bob Sullivan in response to allegations of withholding information: "CSX continues to work with MDOT and FHWA [Federal Highway Administration] on this project and we will be in contact with the elected officials in the near future."

Patch requested details from CSX on how it arrived at the  at each site when the numbers were first made public in November.

"The initial core project estimates we provided are a range of costs based on known site characteristics and considerations, including terminal development; property acquisition; environmental issues; relationships to existing infrastructure, such as local roadways, MARC stations, electric and utility access; and other factors. These preliminary estimates may vary significantly as site-specific conditions are determined and assessed...," Sullivan said at the time.

When Patch asked for a breakdown of these costs by site, CSX declined.

"At this time, we don’t have anything to add to the response we provided..." said Sullivan.

During Wednesday's delegation meeting, Roth said he is concerned about a lack of transparency in the process—a sentiment by other residents. Residents have expressed concern that CSX and MDOT want to put the facility in Hanover and are producing data to support that choice. in Hanover months before the candidate sites were announced.

"We have not gotten information to justify those numbers they presented," said Roth about site development costs. "We want to make sure that we know all the data going into the analysis...to preclude the opportunity of ignoring data that doesn't support the desired outcome."

This article has been updated at 8:20 a.m. on Feb. 10 to correct Del. Gail Bates' party affiliation. Bates is a Republican, not Democrat as previously stated.