TOWNLINE RAIL TERMINAL: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

What is this rail spur and why is it happening?

Townline Rail Terminal, LLC filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency separate from the Town’s jurisdiction for a rail spur, with storage rails on the property to haul ash and construction debris (C & D) as an alternative to trucking it. In preliminary discussions with Town Staff, the petitioner has expressed plans to operate one train per day, 5-days a week. Per Townline and its engineer, HDR Inc, the proposed yard has been designed to handle one inbound and one outbound freight train of up to 27 cars daily. The storage tracks have the capacity to store approximately 3 days of excess storage (up to 79 cars) in the event of rail service outage. 

Is the Town of Smithtown in Support of this particular project?

With regards to this project we defer to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) authority. The town does recognize the use of rail over trucking to be a better option when the Brookhaven Landfill closes. 

Regarding this petition, the STB is doing an environmental assessment as part of its process and will be evaluating the environmental impacts of the proposal. In addition, the Town would be doing a full EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) to evaluate potential impacts of the non-rail aspects. 

Is it true that Carlson ultimately intends to convert the property into an Organic Waste Processing Facility, which will receive organic waste from hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and other locations? 

An OWPF (Organic Waste Processing Facility) is prohibited by the Town Code.  Such use is not included in the petition to the STB, and Townline has expressed to Town officials that it does not intend to operate an OWPF. 

Is Townline Rail Terminal trying to fast-track an application to build this rail spur?

The petition to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) is the first of many steps in a multi-year-long process. In addition to the federal approvals required for the rail spur, the proposed buildings and site work, excluding the rail, are subject to Town approvals. These include a change of zone, amendments to the Town’s zoning ordinance, Special Exceptions to the TB and BZA, and Site Plan approval, and would be subject to a full SEQRA review, including Environmental Impact Statement.

Could ash from Covanta potentially contain hazardous materials? 

The Covanta Huntington Resource Recovery Facility is permitted to process non-hazardous residential, commercial and industrial wastes. Air emissions are monitored to ensure they are below permitted levels (emissions data is available on Covanta’s website) and ash residue is tested per State environmental regulations to ensure it is a non-hazardous waste.

Would commodities including building material, chemically treated wood, ready mix (concrete), asphalt and petroleum products be railed into the facility? 

In its petition to the STB, and in preliminary discussions with Town staff and officials, Townline has expressed an interest in importing commodities for the local industrial area that are currently trucked to the area. In order to do this, Townline would require an amendment to the Town’s Zoning Ordinance, including the requisite public hearing and SEQRA requirements.

Does the Surface Transportation Board (STB) have 90 days, until February 15, 2023, to act on the Townline petition?

The Town is reviewing the matter of the federal procedural time frames and opportunities for public input. Status of the petition for Townline Rail Terminal, LLC can be followed on the STB’s website. The Docket Number is FD 36575. The petition to the STB is the first of many steps in a multi-year-long process. 

In addition to the federal approvals required for the rail spur, the proposed buildings and site work, excluding the rail, are subject to Town approvals. These include a change of zone, amendments to the Town’s zoning ordinance, Special Exceptions to the TB and BZA, and Site Plan approval, and would be subject to a full SEQRA review, including Environmental Impact Statement

Will this be a regional train yard with capacity to handle 161 train cars? 

In its STB petition and preliminary discussions with Town staff, Townline has indicated that it plans to operate one train per day, 5-days a week. Per Townline and its engineer, HDR Inc, the proposed yard has been designed to handle one inbound and one outbound freight train of up to 27 cars daily. The storage tracks have the capacity to store approximately 3 days of excess storage (up to 79 cars) in the event of rail service outage.

Will there be 100,000 sf of industrial buildings, including an 80,000 sf building and a 20,000 sf building?

Although Town staff have had preliminary discussions with Townline, no applications have been submitted at this time, to Town of Smithtown departments. The proposed buildings and site work, excluding the rail, are subject to Town approvals, including a change of zone, amendments to the Town’s zoning ordinance, Special Exceptions to the TB and BZA, and Site Plan approval, which all require public hearings, and would be subject to a full SEQRA review, scoping period and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. The proposal would need to meet all standards and approvals listed above before the project can move forward.