Citizens Against the SCMagLev (CATS) and the Maryland Coalition for Responsible Transit

(MCRT) assembled a team of experts from various fields and disciplines to review the SCMagLev

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). We have found the DEIS significantly deficient in

many critical areas, including in addressing Impacts on Communities and Residents.

To read the entire MCRT-CATS submission, go to: www.mcrt-action.org, click on the SCMaglev

Opposition tab, and select MCRT SCMagLev DEIS Comments.

Findings:

The DEIS understates or ignores the impacts on communities through which the SCMagLev
will travel and the harm to human and wildlife health it will bring, including the potential
release of toxins, carcinogens, and radioactive gas into communities.
The DEIS insufficiently discusses the impact of light and noise pollution on residents and
communities, as well as the disruptive impacts on residents and communities during the
multi-year construction phase.
The DEIS promotes the “rosy picture” of beautiful structures traversing alongside the
Baltimore-Washington (B-W) Parkway. However, as shown from the built system in Japan,
the actual picture is fenced areas beneath the viaducts, ill-kept trash collectors, with
patched access roads. This reality will destroy the original purpose for constructing the B-W
Parkway—providing a green and natural park-like environment for those traveling between
Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The DEIS is inadequate in discussing the impacts of the tunnel boring machine launch and
retrieval sites and equipment staging sites, as well as the procedures and processes to be
employed to safely handle the removed soil and spoils.
The DEIS fails to provide the detailed information needed on the hauling of the removed
dirt and soil through communities. The impact of the movement, sound, and vibration
pollution generated by the heavy trucks as they continuously operate during the years of
construction on the health of the affected residents and on the building structures exposed
to the constant vibrations is inadequately addressed.
The DEIS fails to describe how water used during the tunnel boring will be sourced, the
impact on the source, and how the used water will be collected and decontaminated,
especially as known contaminate areas are tunneled through.
The DEIS understates the impact the construction and operation of the SCMagLev will have
on historic and cultural sites and resources, including identification of all the significant
cultural sites and resources that will be negatively affected.

Conclusion:

A comprehensive and independent expert assessment identifying the serious and
irrecoverable environmental and ecological damage and destruction that building the
SCMagLev will bring to one of the last preserved research spaces on the East Coast so that
the full cost to our state, counties, communities, and residents will be known is needed.
A comprehensive and independent expert assessment of the potential danger to human
and wildlife health from emissions and pollution that building and operating the SCMagLev
will bring so these impacts are known and quantified is needed.

Recommendations:

Given:

The many legal requirements the DEIS must, yet failed, to address;
The obvious financial uncertainties of the SCMagLev project and operation;
The failure to provide the full scope of information required for independent analyses to
ascertain the viability of the Project;
The disruption, destruction, and fragmentation of hundreds of acres of protected and
fragile environment areas;
The industrial levels of pollution released into our watershed and communities;
No independent assessment and evaluation of the train, structures, and systems to U.S. safety standards apart from a system currently running on a test and development track; and
No required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) side-by-side comparison to existing
ground-based, high-speed transportation systems, such as Amtrak, Amtrak Acela, and
MARC, which are the far better alternatives than building an expensive, and likely to be
subsidized by tax dollars, transportation system only the wealthy can afford to use on a
regular basis.

The recommendations are the following:

(1) Best Option: The Federal Railroad Administration Should Select the No Build Option.

Over $28 million of taxpayer dollars have already been spent studying the cost and benefit

of building the SCMagLev. The costs far outweigh any benefit. Stop the Project now and

invest the saved tax dollars into fixing and upgrading existing transportation infrastructure

(roads, bridges, tunnels), including Amtrak and regional rail systems such as MARC and VRE.

(2) Alternative Option (1 of 2): Establish Rules of Particular Applicability.

If the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) decides to continue its consideration of building

the SCMagLev, U.S. Safety Standards (Rules of Particular Applicability [RPA]) must be

established. The RPA MUST INDEPENDENTLY assess, evaluate, and test support structures

and support and operating systems, especially cybersecurity strength and the

crashworthiness and survivability of the train, and provide these analysis and findings to the

public—with a 180-day review and comment period—BEFORE deliberating on a decision to

begin construction of the SCMagLev is even considered.

(3) Alternative Option (2 of 2): Prepare a Supplemental DEIS.

A supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) should be assembled to

address the comments, concerns, and questions identified and provided to the Federal

Railroad Administration. The supplemental DEIS would address the deficiencies, missing and

obfuscated information, and missing analyses and data identified during the review and

analysis of the SCMagLev DEIS by numerous teams of experts, including those affiliated with

local city and county governments, community, civic, and environmental organizations. This

supplemental DEIS needs to be provided to the public—with a 180-day review and

comment period—BEFORE deliberating on a decision to begin construction of the SCMagLev

is even considered.

The Maryland Coalition for Responsible Transit (MCRT) a nonprofit organization formed in 2020. MCRT’s mission is to evaluate transit projects for social equity, environmental justice, economic viability, and community accessibility. See MCRT’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MCRTaction and our website at www.mcrt-action.org. Contact the MCRT at mcrtaction@gmail.com.

Citizens Against the SCMagLev (CATS) is an organization formed in 2016 when the initial Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR) and Northeast Maglev proposal to build the first phase of Japan’s SCMagLev train between Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. As many questions were raised and not answered by the BWRR, community concerns arose. Residents came together to represent the interests of their communities and form CATS. CATS has evolved into a confederation of scientists, engineers, experts, community organizations, and citizens in support of transportation infrastructure improvements that benefit our communities, state, and nation. CATS has written numerous articles and provided testimony on legislation in Annapolis and has met with elected officials in Washington, D.C.,

CATS has identified better high-speed rail and commuter rail alternatives. See our CATS Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/citizensagainstscmaglev and our website at www.stopthistrain.org.