Eagle Pass Citizens Hold Community Concerns Meeting to Discuss Proposed Green Eagle Railroad Project
By: Victoria Martinez, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
A group of concerned Eagle Pass citizens met on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at the San Lucas Lutheran Church’s Human Rights Center to discuss the proposed Green Eagle Railroad Line and Bridge Project in Eagle Pass, Texas as well as how to organize against the project’s proposed location in the densely-populated Seco Mines and Hopedale areas within the community.
The Green Eagle Railroad Project’s proposed location starting at the U.S.-Mexico border on the Rio Grande River traveling through Seco Creek along residential and commercial areas across U. S. Highway 277 North (Del Rio Blvd.) to Barrera and Dr. Gates Streets in Seco Mines neighborhood and near Seco Mines Elementary to the Union Pacific Railroad line has raised many environmental impact concerns among local citizens. The proposed railroad project is to be constructed and operated within or adjacent to the Seco Creek FEMA flood zone in the community.
Jessie Fuentes, a member of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, stated “We gotta come together with a plan to approach this project. It’s a big risk, not just for the neighborhood, but the county.” Another resident, Gracie Maldonado, voiced concerns with the proposed railroad’s projected route within or adjacent to the Seco Creek FEMA flood zone, stating “Water will find its way out” and “What’s going to happen when we need an emergency response unit” in the neighborhood?
The Community Concerns meeting raised concerns about how the community and its residents were not consulted in the planning of the project by the private investors and Maverick County Commissioners Court. Citizens discussed how local people, businesses, and organizations may become involved in the Green Eagle Railroad Project, particularly because there is overwhelming opposition to the proposed location of the railroad line and bridge within densely populated areas of the community. “We ask to be included and given choices to go from,” stated Amerika Garcia Grewal, an Eagle Pass Border Coalition Action Committee member, as well as “lead with our values and they can come back with their options.”
Another topic raised was the lack of public information about the proposed Green Eagle Railroad Project and the restricted access to the public information. Jose Corpus, a resident of the Hopedale area and member of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, stated “If you are going to the meetings, go ask questions and protest because they are only telling lies.”
“We’re in favor of progress, but it should not come at the cost of our community’s well-being. We urge the developers to present alternative routes that honor our concerns, safeguard our resources, and foster a sustainable future for all of Maverick County,” said Amerika Garcia-Grewal.
Time is of the essence as the proposed Presidential Permit is before President Joe Biden, who only has 60 days from April 5, 2024, to either deny, approve or take no action on whether to grant the United States Presidential Permit for the Green Eagle Railroad Line and Bridge as well as the commercial truck bridge called Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge. If President Biden does not take any action, the permit would still be granted. Jose Corpus stated “We must file an official formal complaint with the U. S. Department of Justice no later than Friday, May 5, 2024.”
Another Community Concerns meeting has been scheduled by the Eagle Pass Border Coalition on Friday, May 3, 2024 at 1 p.m. at the Iglesia Luterana San Lucas, located at 1725 Eidson Road, Eagle Pass, Texas 78852. The public is welcomed to attend and voice their concerns regarding the proposed Green Eagle Railroad and Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Projects in Eagle Pass, Texas.
