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April 22, 2016 Page 2 When Florida Power and Light built the power plant in the 1970's, the Florida East Coast Railroad moved a marginal amount of freight along this rail line. The company and rail corridor are now owned by a hedge fund through an affiliate, and operations have changed and are planned to change significantly. The All Aboard Florida Project is designed not just to add high speed passenger rail between Miami and Orlando, but also to add a second rail line and accommodate additional freight through our area. Over recent years, freight traffic has increased significantly and is still projected to double or triple. Moreover, a number of hazardous materials have been added to the freight carried by the railroad, including highly volatile ethanol, chlorine gas, anhydrous ammonia, and liquefied propane gas. The US Department of Energy has granted approval to affiliated companies to export liquefied natural gas by rail, and associated facilities are in development along the route. (See the May 29, 2015, approval from the Department of Energy attached.) Our communities and government agencies, particularly in this County and those to the immediate north and south, have recognized the threat posed by the project and transmission of hazardous materials going through densely populated areas along the East Coast. (See, for example, Martin County's Emergency Services Division's study, also attached.) Increasing freight and hazardous materials traffic, and adding 32 passenger trains per day through the Treasure Coast and within two miles of the nuclear plant, seems to raise any number of issues; and, we're concerned about its effect on the power plant. The power plant is located on the barrier island which, itself, is heavily populated and which has significant limitations on evacuation. There are additional populations also located on the mainland, but still east of the railroad, so train issues could block evacuation. In the Village, one stopped train could block the evacuation of most Village residents. All our communities have major arteries, relatively close together, that could be blocked by a single stopped train. We also note that, at the south end of the County, the rail bridge over the St. Lucie River is not being replaced or double tracked, which would seem to create a choke point having major implications for delivery of emergency services to the north and south, as well as evacuation plans. Moreover, with the plant located just two miles from the railway, and the transmission lines passing directly above the tracks, operation of the plant could also be impacted by an accident involving release of gas or chemicals, or an explosion. va-lr