State DEP approves air permit for creosote-treated railroad ties

At approximately 5 p.m. Jan. 12, this aerial image shows roughly half of the rail cars at the site had been filled with creosote-treated railroad ties. [Photo by Bryce Hale]

More than five weeks after residents were told the mountains of creosote-treated railroad ties stored along a CSX rail line would be removed from Dunnellon, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has approved an air construction permit authorizing those same ties to be shredded and ground on site — despite widespread public opposition.

The permit approval became public days after aerial photographs showed rail cars actively being loaded with the treated ties.

At approximately 5 p.m. Jan. 12, aerial images taken by local resident Bryce Hale show roughly half of the rail cars at the site had been filled.

The permit, Air Permit No. 0830196-001-AC, approved Jan. 9, explicitly authorizes “the installation of a shredding and grinding operation of wooden railroad ties” at 20365 E. McKinney Avenue in Dunnellon. The permit allows the facility to process up to “578,160 tons of railroad ties/year” and operate continuously, “8,760 hours/year,” according to the permit’s performance restrictions.

In its Final Determination, DEP acknowledged receiving 217 written public comments opposing the project but concluded that most concerns — including fire risk, proximity to homes, potential impacts to the Rainbow River, property values and requests for immediate removal of the existing ties — were “not related to the draft air construction permit” and therefore outside the agency’s scope of review.

The DEP similarly dismissed fire-related objections, writing that concerns about creosote-fueled fires “are not related to the draft air construction permit,” even as local fire officials warned such fires could burn for days and generate toxic smoke.

Regarding health and odor complaints, the DEP stated that “objectionable odors are prohibited” under Florida rules but maintained that air toxics from grinding railroad ties are not regulated under any specific federal or state standard.

“There is no specific rule or regulation with the U.S. EPA or the state of Florida regulating the air toxics from a shredding and grinding of wooden railroad ties,” the agency wrote.

The DEP ultimately concluded: “The final action of the department is to issue the final permit with no changes.”

The permit applicant, Track Line LLC, proposed grinding the ties on property owned by CSX. Local officials have said CSX was unaware of the grinding plan when ties were brought to the site and later committed to providing rail cars to transport the ties out of Dunnellon.

What is the local recourse?

While the state permit allows grinding to proceed, local ordinances and zoning regulations may still prohibit the operation. Marion County previously indicated it would seek injunctive relief if Track Line attempted to grind railroad ties at the site.

Dunnellon Mayor Walter Green said CSX began loading railroad ties into rail cars on Jan. 10 — days before DEP’s final determination was released.

Green said he plans to follow up directly with CSX to ensure the company honors its earlier commitment — made under threat of litigation by Marion County and the city — to fully remove the ties from Dunnellon regardless of the permit approval.

Earlier last year, the city of Newberry forced Track Line to shut down after the company ground railroad ties without a permit. It is believed Track Line subsequently moved the ties to Dunnellon. No grinding has occurred at the Dunnellon site.

Questions sent to Marion County Attorney Matthew Minter regarding whether the county still has authority to intervene and enforce local zoning restrictions were not returned before publication.

As previously reported, the rail line sits on agriculturally zoned land in close proximity to the Rainbow River, a first-magnitude spring.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.