Townline Terminal

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
DOCKET NO. FD 36575
Townline Rail Terminal, LLC – Proposed Construction and Operation of a Line of Railroad

Proposed Action
On November 17, 2022, Townline Rail Terminal LLC (Townline) filed a petition in Docket
No. FD 36575 under 49 U.S.C. § 10502 seeking authorization from the Surface Transportation
Board (Board) to construct and operate approximately 5,000 feet of new, common carrier rail
line and associated switching and sidetrack in the Hamlet of Kings Park, Town of Smithtown,
N.Y. (Smithtown) (Proposed Action). CarlsonCorp, Inc. (Carlson) established Townline in
2021 to be a common carrier railroad. The proposed 5,000-foot line would connect and run
parallel to the existing Long Island Railroad (LIRR) mainline.
The proposed line would add two daily New York and Atlantic Railway (NYA) trains (one
roundtrip) to the LIRR system five days a week. NYA is a short line railroad that currently
operates freight rail service on the LIRR mainline in conjunction with LIRR passenger
operations in New York’s Suffolk, Nassau, Kings, and Queens Counties. NYA operates over
270 miles throughout the LIRR network and maintains selected sidings and tracks designated
exclusively for freight service. If the proposed rail line is authorized and implemented,
Townline would interchange its rail traffic with NYA, which would then move the
commodities off Long Island by rail.
Purpose and Need
According to Townline, the Proposed Action is needed to provide a rail option for transporting
incinerator ash and construction and demolition (C&D) debris off Long Island for customers
located on Carlson property and adjacent properties. Townline states that in 2024,
Brookhaven landfill (the largest disposal option for incinerator ash and C&D debris on Long
Island) will reach maximum capacity and close. Townline notes that the proposed line would
offer an alternative to truck transportation off Long Island by providing efficient, direct rail
transportation via the LIRR mainline to the interstate network. In addition to serving Carlson,
Townline anticipates it would potentially serve Covanta Energy, a waste-to-energy facility
located half a mile west of the Proposed Action that converts Smithtown’s solid waste into
incinerator ash, and other shippers in the area.
The proposed federal action is the Board’s decision to authorize, with appropriate conditions,
or deny construction and operation of the proposed rail line. The Proposed Action is not being
proposed or sponsored by the federal government. Therefore, the purpose and need for the
proposed line is informed by the goals of Townline as the project applicant in conjunction
with the Board’s enabling statutes, 49 U.S.C. 10901 and 10502.
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Conclusion
OEA concludes that the Proposed Action would have negligible impacts to all environmental
resource areas, excluding biological resources. For biological resources, OEA concludes that
the Proposed Action’s impacts can be appropriately minimized with the mitigation
recommended in this Draft EA.
This Draft EA is available for viewing and downloading on the Board’s website
(www.stb.gov) by clicking “Search STB Records” near the top of the home page and then
searching for “Decisions” using Docket Number “FD 36575.” In addition, a hard copy of the
Draft EA is available at the local libraries identified in Table 1.7-1 of the Draft EA, which
includes the address, telephone, website, and operating hours for each location.
OEA invites comments on all aspects of this Draft EA and will consider all timely comments
received. All comments on this Draft EA must be submitted by the comment due date, within
the comment period, which will close in 30 days on February 5, 2024. When submitting
comments on this Draft EA, OEA encourages commenters to be as specific as possible and to
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