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US Army Corps of Engineers Public Comment Notice

by | Apr 14, 2020 | Blog Article | 0 comments

Friends,

Texans Against HSR has been working diligently on your behalf during this new and uncertain time. In stark contrast to Texas Central, our work has gone uninterrupted within the stronger-than-ever team made up of volunteers, the attorneys from the Beckham Group and our lobbyists in Austin and DC. Our elected officials, now busier than ever, have not forgotten our fight against the detrimental impacts of the proposed HSR. While those elected officials and Texans Against HSR have requested any and all public comment periods related to the proposed Dallas Houston HSR be postponed, TAHSR has received many questions about the US Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit public comment periods. 
 

Background

Since our state has been under the stay at home order, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have opened two new public comment periods regarding the proposed Dallas Houston HSR for two separate 404 permits. Several elected officials have requested public hearings be conducted as part of these comment periods, and in doing so, also requested the postponement of the entire public comment period until a time that public hearings are both lawful and safe.  
 
Did you receive a packet of information from the USACE?
If you have recently received a packet of information regarding the US Army Corps of Engineers 404 permitting of the Dallas Houston HSR, below is a draft of possible comments for you to submit in the meantime while we await word on the rescheduling of the public comment periods, as well as pertinent contact information. Feel free to copy and paste this into your email and then edit or add to it as you feel necessary for your unique situation. The deadline to comment is April 30. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email or call us. 
 
You can send one email and include all three of the following recipients in the TO line:
 
Email Subject:  # SWF-2011-00483 & # SWG-2014-00412
I am a landowner impacted by Texas Central’s proposed high-speed rail project (HSR). I am submitting this comment in regards to the certification and permitting activities being performed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) & Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the HSR (# SWF-2011-00483 & # SWG-2014-00412). Texas Central does not have the right to exercise eminent domain on my property to conduct a survey or for any other purpose. As a result, I do not consent to my property being surveyed by the USACE & TCEQ for the HSR, nor do I consent to the use of any information concerning my property for the USACE’s or TCEQ’s certification or permitting activities related to the HSR. To the extent information concerning my property has already been used or included by the USACE or TCEQ as part of any such activities, please remove it from consideration immediately. Any survey or further use of information concerning my property on Texas Central’s behalf will be considered an illegal trespass. 
Please record this comment in the administrative record.
 
Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City
 
I hope you and your family are well during these difficult times. Please let us know if we can be of assistance to you.
 
Truly for Texas,
Kyle Workman
Chairman and President
Texans Against HSR

PRESS RELEASE February 19, 2020

by | Feb 19, 2020 | Blog Article, Press Releases | 0 comments

LANDOWNERS REQUEST PERJURY INVESTIGATION
OF TEXAS CENTRAL RAILWAY TESTIMONY IN 86TH LEGISLATURE

Jewett, Texas – Five Texas landowners have requested Texas House of Representatives Investigative Committee Chair Morgan Meyer open an investigation related to possible perjury committed by Texas Central Railway Managing Director Holly Reed for testimony provided during the 86th Legislative Session earlier this year.

Texas Central representatives testified at all committee hearings for bills related to high-speed rail, but the landowners’ complaint is limited to two specific hearings on bills related to landowner protections against misuse of eminent domain authority by high-speed rail companies. Texas Central has long contended it is a railroad with the authority of eminent domain and represented this to private property owners in option contract negotiations. Even after a court ruled the company is not a railroad and does not have eminent domain authority, company representatives continue to make this claim to the public.

HB 4219 would have allowed landowners to cancel option contracts with the company and get their property back if it was later determined in court that Texas Central did not have eminent domain authority (the court ruling above was issued during the course of the legislative session). HB 1367 would have given landowners who signed option contracts under the threat of eminent domain the right to get their property back from Texas Central if it was used for something other than the high-speed rail project or if the project was cancelled.

According to the landowners, Reed’s testimony regarding the company’s “option purchase program” was material to resolving the concerns of legislators about the need for such protections. In the letter is was explained that Reed’s testimony made HB 4219 seem “unnecessary because Texas Central wasn’t going to exercise any options until it had raised $20 billion and received all permits…” Reed shared similar information about the option purchase program in the HB 1367 hearing, making it appear as if the company had built in the protection by not closing on option contracts until the project was at a point where it would be unlikely to be cancelled.

Texas Central Railway has not received any permits to construct or operate a high-speed rail, nor have they raised the needed construction funds; yet, the company began closing on option contracts in December of 2019, which Ms. Reed expressly told legislators they would not do. The landowners’ letter with relevant testimony transcript and supporting documentation can be viewed here.

Landowners' Letter to Chair Meyer
TAHSR Jurisdictional Reply 10-8-19
Deeds & Amended Options

Kyle Workman, chairman and president of Texans Against High-Speed Rail, said of the request for investigation, “Landowners have been lied to, had their property trespassed on and been sued in the courts by Texas Central, so, while it isn’t surprising that they would misrepresent their project to our State Legislators, it is a serious affront to our State’s legislative process. Because they were misled by Ms. Reed’s testimony, legislators were not able to provide the landowner protections desperately needed to thwart this company’s tactics. Chair Meyer now has the opportunity to investigate these claims and ensure that Texans know the legislature will not tolerate such actions.”

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STB 2019 Interim Decision

by | Jun 26, 2019 | Blog Article | 0 comments

Dear friends,

Last week, the Surface Transportation Board, the federal level interstate rail regulatory agency, issued a decision regarding Texas Central’s request for oral argument related to their petition to reopen. Texas Rail Advocates has already touted this as a positive development for Texas Central, so we wanted to provide some context and clarification to shed light on this interim decision. Much like our last update, this detailed update demonstrates our continued efforts in this fight and stresses the importance for you to remain involved and engaged.

As a refresher, in 2016 Texas Central asked the STB for an exemption so that it could immediately begin construction of its HSR project. The STB declined jurisdiction after finding that the project would be operated entirely in Texas and would not be part of the “interstate rail network.” Texas Central acted like the decision – the first of many setbacks the project has suffered over the years – was a victory, boasting that “STB approval will not be required before construction can start.” Of course, this statement was false: Texas Central knew full well that STB approval is required.

In 2018, Texas Central filed a petition to “reopen” the STB proceeding. Texas Central claimed that it had entered into a “through-ticket” arrangement with Amtrak, which meant that the project would now be part of the interstate rail network. And, Texas Central requested – for a second time – that the STB take jurisdiction over the project. Nearly a year later, Texas Central requested an “oral argument” on its petition to reopen.

At every stage in the STB proceeding, Texans Against High Speed Rail has voiced its opposition to the project loud and clear. TAHSR – through Blake Beckham and Patrick McShan of The Beckham Group, STB specialist Richard Streeter, and Andrew Nehring of Fourth Street Advocacy – has explained to the STB why it should not take jurisdiction over the project, which is certain to be a financial disaster. Most recently, TAHSR filed an opposition to Texas Central’s request for oral argument. In that document, TAHSR told the STB that regardless of any alleged agreement with Amtrak, Texas Central has done nothing to address the “glaring jurisdictional dilemma – the lack of any connection between TCR and Amtrak service in Dallas or Houston. Likewise, nothing that TCR might say during oral argument will change these undisputed facts.”

Last Thursday, the STB issued an interim decision denying Texas Central’s request for oral argument. In addition, the STB asked Texas Central to produce five categories of additional information related to its alleged agreement with Amtrak:

1) Annual projections relating to passenger transfers (passengers transferring from Amtrak to Texas Central’s high-speed train, and vice versa), supported by a full description of the underlying methodologies, assumptions, date, and data sources for the projections, along with Amtrak’s “written concurrence” of them;

2) Details of any physical connection for transferring passengers in Dallas who may choose to walk between the Amtrak station and Texas Central’s proposed station location, including what arrangements have been made, if any, for passengers’ luggage;

3) Details pertaining to any proposed “transfer service” between the Amtrak stations and Texas Central’s proposed station locations (in Dallas and Houston), such as frequency of the transfer service and projected wait times;

4) Legal support for the notion that the STB can assert jurisdiction over the project even though there is “a complete break or gap in physical rail assets”; and

5) Discussion of whether Texas Central’s proposed passenger transfer service is similar to transfer service and related activities in the freight context.

In short, the STB is making Texas Central show its work. Unless an extension is granted, Texas Central must produce this information by July 22. TAHSR, and any other parties, may file replies to Texas Central’s submission by August 9.

Finally, the STB suggested in its recent decision that if it chooses to take jurisdiction over the project, it may require Texas Central to file a full construction approval application, in light of the questions raised by TAHSR and others regarding the project’s rising costs, financial feasibility, and lack of funding. Such an application would require Texas Central to provide full and complete information pertaining to these critical issues to assist the STB in analyzing “the transportation merits of the project.” In its discussion, the STB also noted that concerns “with the scope, costs, and funding” of the California HSR have arisen since the STB’s finding of jurisdiction over that project in 2013.

We believe this latest STB decision is a positive development in our fight against Texas Central. We are pleased that the STB is requiring Texas Central to support its claims with actual evidence and data. The more information Texas Central must fork over, the better. We are confident that once all the facts come to light, the STB will see that Texas Central’s project – a closed, intrastate system – will not be part of the national rail network.

Below is a copy of the STB decision: https://www.texansagainsthsr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/STB-Order-6-20-19.pdf

As always, thank you for your support of our organized efforts to protect your private property rights and tax dollars. We are proud to represent the very best of Texas.

Truly for Texas,

Kyle Workman
Chair and President
Texans Against HSR

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HSR TxDOT Rider

by | Mar 29, 2019 | Blog Article | 0 comments

Limitation on Expenditures for High-speed Rail.

None of the funds appropriated above to the Department of Transportation from state funds may be used for the purposes of subsidizing or assisting in the construction of high-speed passenger rail. If the Department of Transportation acts as a joint-lead agency with a federal agency under 40 C.F.R. §1506.2, this section does not prevent the Department of Transportation from using state funds to exercise its authority for oversight and coordination of federal processes and programs for a project that has a final Environmental Impact Statement and formal authorization to operate from all relevant federal authorities, entities, and agencies. The Department of Transportation shall not expend resources to coordinate access to right of ways on state highways for a high-speed rail project unless and until the high-speed rail project has established that it possesses eminent domain authority in the State of Texas through a final, non- appealable judgment entered by a Texas court of competent jurisdiction. For the purposes of this section, high-speed rail means intercity passenger rail service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour.

PRESS RELEASE February 8, 2019

by | Feb 9, 2019 | Blog Article, Press Releases | 0 comments

***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***

FOR THE RECORD: TEXAS CENTRAL “RAILWAY” DOES NOT HAVE
EMINENT DOMAIN AUTHORITY

WHAT: Leon County Landowners won their lawsuit against Texas Central “Railway” when Judge Deborah Evans ruled in their favor, declaring Texas Central “Railway” and Integrated Texas Logistics are not a railroad or interurban electric rail, meaning they do not have eminent domain authority.

WHO: Landowners Jim and Barbara Miles, Texans Against HSR Special Litigation Counsel Blake Beckham and Patrick McShan, Texans Against HSR Chairman Kyle Workman, and State Representative Ben Leman.

WHEN: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019; 11:00 AM

WHERE: LEON COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 114 TX-75, CENTERVILLE

WHY: Texas Central “Railway’s” high-speed “rail” project is in serious jeopardy after Judge Deborah Evans clearly rules this project is not entitled to the rights and authorities of railroads or interurban electric rail, including eminent domain authority. This is just one example of the continued lies Texas Central “Railway” has promulgated across the Lone Star State. It is time that Texans finally hear the facts.

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PRESS RELEASE January 30, 2019

by | Jan 30, 2019 | Blog Article, Press Releases | 0 comments

LANDOWNER VICTORY: SECOND JUDGE DENIES TEXAS CENTRAL RAILWAY’S REQUEST TO BE DECLARED RAILROAD

Ellis County, Texas – Last Friday, Ellis County landowners Ronny Caldwell, William Getzendaner, and Darren Eagle celebrated another devastating blow to Texas Central Railway’s ill-advised high-speed rail project. In Ellis County – where Texas Central has sued more than ten landowners – Judge Jim Chapman denied Texas Central’s motion for a summary judgment order declaring that Texas Central qualifies as a railroad company under Texas law. As it stands, Texas Central still has no legal right to enter onto private property, nor does it have the right to force landowners to sell their property under the threat of eminent domain. In short, everything Texas Central has been telling landowners and the public for the past three years continues to be proven false in courtrooms up and down the proposed HSR corridor. Hopefully now, after losing in court again, Texas Central will finally realize that – in Texas – merely saying you are a railroad doesn’t mean that you are a railroad.

Landowner Ronny Caldwell said he is pleased with the ruling, especially since this is the second time he has been sued by the promoters of the proposed HSR. “Texas Central sued me back in 2016, then dropped the lawsuit after I hired an attorney and filed my papers. Then they sued me again in 2018. For years, I’ve been asking them to show me proof they are a railroad with eminent domain. They never could. And as it turns out, they couldn’t prove it in court either.”

Our legal team, led by Blake Beckham and Patrick McShan of The Beckham Group, worked countless hours alongside Ron Bunch, Derek Rollins, and Dan Gus, attorneys for William Getzendaner and Darren Eagle, in defense of these landowners’ property rights. Glenn Sodd, Jason Sodd and Jody McSpadden of the Dawson Sodd firm also contributed to this legal victory.

Patrick McShan said, “Once again, Texas Central bullied innocent landowners, sued them, threatened them with attorney’s fees, filed thousands of pages of papers, and then lost in court. It’s like a broken record. How many more of these cases does Texas Central and their army of lawyers have to lose before they get it through their heads that bringing a bunch of boxes of papers to the courthouse to show how much work you’ve done doesn’t mean you can violate someone’s private property rights? They’ve filed 43 cases in six counties and still can’t find a single court to sign off on their absurd legal arguments. And it’s not going to happen on our watch.”

Kyle Workman, president of Texans Against High-Speed Rail, said, “This ruling doesn’t surprise us, given that Texas Central has never produced any documentation of eminent domain authority. This company has been threatening and suing landowners, sending harassing letters, trespassing, and coercing “option contracts” with the unsubstantiated threat of eminent domain for years. With no eminent domain authority and no money or approval to construct, calling this project a pipe dream is putting it mildly. In truth, it’s just a bunch of consultants feeding at a Japanese-funded trough. It’s time for Texas Central to call it quits and move on.”

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