On Thursday, August 24, 2023, the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation (AHPF) was CC’d on a Determination Letter from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for an Alabama State Port Authority Port of Mobile project called the “Chickasaw Railroad Lead Line”. The AHPF, nor any of its key Africatown resident leadership or its community partners had heard anything about this project.

AHPF then called on community partners to familiarize themselves with all the documents the FRA included in the initial email:

• FRA’s Determination Letter,
• “Chickasaw Railroad Lead Line Phase I Cultural Resources Survey”, the project’s archeology report, and
• the Alabama Historic Commission‘s Section 106 Project Consultation Review Form for Chickasaw Lead Line (with construction scale layouts).

A map of the Africatown railyard expansion project area by Volkert

Because despite what the project name would imply, the “Chickasaw Railroad Lead Line” project is contained entirely within the City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area and comes within 160 feet of occupied residences within the Africatown Historic District, as can be seen in the above figure contained within the FRA’s Determination Letter supporting documents, MEJAC has decided to refer to the project by what it is – a Port of Mobile railyard expansion project within Africatown, the Africatown Railyard Expansion Project.

Based on the invitation for public interveners by the FRA in its Determination Letter, the AHPF took the opportunity to intervene as the first consulting party on behalf of the National Park Service’s Africatown Historic District, which is protected by the National Historic Preservation Act and its Section 106, requiring, among other things, that projects with impacts on national historic districts to consult with parties representing the interests of those districts to ensure that potential impacts are appropriately quantified and mitigated, if necessary.

The AHPF also shared the information and documentation they received with MEJAC and many other community partners. In response, MEJAC, residents, and partner groups produced the following “Key Concerns about the Port of Mobile’s Africatown Railyard Expansion Project” brief to provide as much context to partners as well as the project management team at ASPA, Volkert (the project’s engineering consultants), and US FRA, through which the federal grant dollars paying for the project are administered.

A preliminary meeting was held with AHPF, ASPA, Volkert, and US FRA on Thursday, November 2, 2023 at which all parties agreed to further community engagement. Some questions contained within the following brief were answered during that meeting but most questions are outstanding, as are critical questions about how the project will impact both the Africatown Historic District, its residential integrity, and its residents.

Flyer for a Railroad Community Meeting in Africatown

The AHPF, the Mobile County Training School Alumni Association, First Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, Yorktown Missionary Baptist Church, the Africatown~CHESS group, and MEJAC all agreed to host a Railroad Community Meeting on Thursday, January 4 at the Robert Hope Community Center at 850 Edwards Street in Plateau Africatown from 5:30-7:30p, the flyer for which you can see to the right.

Additional community meetings hosted by ASPA and US FRA will happen soon, as well, though dates haven’t been finalized just yet.

In the interest of sharing as much information ahead of the meeting as possible, MEJAC is publishing the entire “Key Concerns about the Port of Mobile’s Africatown Railyard Expansion Project” brief here without dramatic amendment since its original assembly.

To its credit, the Alabama State Port Authority has been forthcoming with all requested information since the FRA’s August letter was shared, which has been very helpful for advocates and residents. Reflecting the additional information and context, an ADDENDUM to this “Key Concerns about the Port of Mobile’s Africatown Railyard Expansion Project” brief is forthcoming.

Key Concerns about the Port of Mobile’s Africatown Railyard Expansion Project

Table of Contents:

1. Critical Outstanding Questions about ASPA’s Africatown Railyard Expansion Project
2. Africatown Background – Africatown Organizes for Much Better Environmental Justice Community Engagement from Federal, State, and Local Authorities
   1. The Africatown Historic District (est. December 4, 2012)
   2. The Africatown Neighborhood Plan (adopted January 2016 by the City of Mobile)
   3. Africatown Public Comment to ASPA’s Mobile Harbor GRR Ship Channel Enlargement Project (January 2016-June 2019)
   4. The Africatown Connections Blueway Place of Baptisms Point Of Interest (est. by Spring 2018)
   5. The Africatown and Africatown Safety Zone Overlays (est. July 2022)
   6. AHPF EPA EJ Collaborative Problem Solving Grant Application (January 2023)
3. Assessing Where the Goals of Federal Environmental Justice (EJ) Programs and the Justice40 Initiative (Justice40) Fit Into the Project
   1. EJ & Justice40 Background
   2. Africatown Environmental Profile
      1. The Africatown Planning Area Is Overburdened by Industrial and Mobile Pollution Sources
      2. The Closest Mobile County NAAQS Air Monitor is More than 3 Miles Away from Many Africatown Residences
      3. Africatown Contains a Huge Concentration of Title V Permitted Facilities and Mobile Sources of Air Pollution
      4. EJ Screen Mapping Data for Africatown Should Raise Concerns for Federal Grant Applicants and Reviewers Alike
      5. Despite Multiple Critical Rail Incidents in Africatown since 2000, Mobile County Apparently Lacks a Chemical Incident Emergency Response Plan
         1. Early 2000s – A Chlorine Derailment and Release
         2. May 2018 – A Polyacrylamide Emergency, Release, and Evacuation
         3. July 2023 – A Large Warehouse Fire Burns for Weeks but Africatown is told the Chickasaw Air Monitor Says Africatown Air is Fine
   3. Rail Project-Specific Relevant Federal Data and Information Gaps
      1. Justice40 Rail Explorer Mapping Data Raises Pollution Concerns
      2. Africatown Railyard Expansion CRISI Proposal was Never Offered to Africatown Stakeholders for Review
      3. Regular Information Channels Curated by the FRA and ASPA Failed to Provide Information about the Africatown Railway Expansion Project
      4. On “Fair Treatment”, “Meaningful Involvement”
      5. On “40% of the Overall Benefits”
4. Working with Available Data (The Phase 1 Archeological Survey & Alabama Historical Commission State Historic Preservation Office Section 106 Project Review Consultation Form)
   1. A Closer Look At Proximity to Homes and Assets of the Africatown Historic District
      1. Historic 308 Chin Street, Less Than 160 Feet from the Railroad Tracks
      2. Historic Mobile County Training School Athletic Field, Less than 310 Feet Away from the Tracks
      3. Historic 1133 Jakes Lane, Furthest Away, Still Less Than 1,320 Feet Away
   2. Archeological Report Assertions Regarding Locomotive Traffic Levels Potentially Contradict the Project Purpose
   3. Contrary to the Project’s Phase I Cultural Resources Survey, Project Noise Concerns Warrant Mitigation Both During Construction and After
   4. Potential Visual Impacts to the Africatown Historic District Viewshed Appear Totally Unacknowledged in Phase I Cultural Resources Survey
   5. Increased Railyard Traffic Means Increased Air Pollution from Locomotive Engines and their Uncovered Contents
5. ADDENDUM – FORTHCOMING

1. Critical Outstanding Questions about ASPA’s Africatown Railyard Expansion Project
   Based on the original Section 106 Consultation Request Letter from the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation dating from September 20, 2023:
   
   1. Why has there been no publicly announced and held consultation with the Africatown community? Copious planning documents for the City of Mobile and prior Public Comment on ASPA’s Mobile Harbor GRR SEIS indicated the Africatown community’s receptiveness to public participation opportunities (see Section 2 of this report).
   2. What are the long term plans for ASPA’s TASD Railway in Africatown? Are other expansions planned? Are other connections planned? Are new bridges planned? The lack of communication, lack of transparency, and lack of engagement over the last decade and longer have been deafening in terms of communicating ASPA’s interests in unilateral and obscured decision-making authority in terms of its properties and assets in the Africatown Planning Area. The Africatown community wants and has repeatedly prescribed from industry, including ASPA, more engagement with Africatown’s many residential and stakeholder groups, virtually all of which get along very well and are interested in working collaboratively (see Sections 2-a, 2-b, 2-c, 2-f of this report).
   3. Will any monitors be in place to regulate railroad noise levels? Construction and Post-project noise levels are a serious concern. Existing conditions are already extremely disruptive to nearby Africatown Historic District residents (see Section 4-c of this report).
   4. How does Africatown’s well-documented air quality concerns and the lack of reliable data fit into the project’s EJ and Justice40 considerations? The limited documents provided thus far provide no information on the impacts of the Africatown Railyard Expansion on air quality (see Section 3 of this report).
   5. What railroad safety technology is used in Africatown to prevent equipment failures, breakdowns, and potential chemical emergencies? The proximity to hazardous materials moved on the Terminal Railroad lines in Africatown have been serious concerns for years to Africatown residents. Public safety has yet to be addressed in any meaningful manner (see Section 3-b-v. of this report).
   6. What’s ASPA’s role in supporting the development, implementation, and promulgation of a Chemical Emergency Response Plan for Mobile County? The proximity to hazardous materials moved on the Terminal Railroad lines in Africatown have been serious concerns for years to Africatown residents. Public safety has yet to be addressed in any meaningful manner (see Section 3-b-v. of this report).
   7. What assurances does the Africatown community have that the new track won’t simply be used to park hazardous materials during local inclement weather events? Are there restrictions on how many such cars can be parked/connected and in what combination? The community has been unhappy with the practice by the 4 railroads that divide Africatown neighborhoods of moving rail cars from the Port of Mobile into Africatown during inclement weather events (see Section 3-b-v. of this report).
   8. Is there any guarantee that the new rail track will not be used as a long term parking area? 175 rail cars along a major Africatown corridor is simply unsightly. Industrial blight is real, and the community’s concerns about industrial visual impacts to the viewshed of the Africatown Historic District and its heritage and ecotourism interests are important and well documented (see Sections 2-b, 3-c-v., and 4-c of this report).
   9. What is ASPA doing to address the addition of buffers and greenspace along this area that borders the Africatown Historic District and the Africatown Connections Blueway Place of Baptisms Point of Interest? The Alabama Historical Commission State Historic Preservation Office Section 106 Project Review Consultation Form report provided to AHPF features plans that demonstrate the removal of buffering vegetation along Paper Mill Road. 175 rail cars along a major Africatown corridor is simply unsightly. Industrial blight is real, and the community’s concerns about industrial visual impacts to the viewshed of the Africatown Historic District and its heritage and ecotourism interests are important and well documented. (see Sections 2-b; 2-d; 3-c-v., and 4-d of this report).
   10. Does ASPA TASD have a policy with respect to fugitive dust from the transport of coal and other bulk minerals along its tracks? Concerns about coal, aggregate, and mineral dust have been long standing in the Mobile area due to multiple coal, aggregate, and mineral terminals on the Mobile River as part of and around the Port of Mobile (see Section 4-e of this report).
       

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2. BACKGROUND
   Africatown Organizes for Much Better Environmental Justice Community Engagement from Federal, State, and Local Authorities
   Africatown is a truly rare and historically significant community with global stakes in both its historical narrative as an African-American enclave founded by survivors of the last documented slave ship brought to North America in 1860 as well as for its contributions to the educational, economic, and social advancement of African-Americans in Lower Alabama with impacts felt around the world.
   1. 1. The Africatown Historic District (est. December 4, 2012)
         The Africatown Historic District was established by the National Park Service with the blessing of many Africatown residents and stakeholders because of the perceived protections it would afford the community from ongoing industrial expansion that affects residential quality of life, public health, and economic opportunity through industrial blight and hindering its residential nature.
         

         The US National Park Service’s official map of the Africatown Historic District

      2. The Africatown Neighborhood Plan (adopted January 2016 by the City of Mobile)
         The Africatown Neighborhood Plan “was prepared during the Summer of 2015 under the direction of the City of Mobile Community and Housing Development Department and a steering committee of Africatown residents and community stakeholders. The plan sets out a unified vision for the long-term revitalization of the community.” The Plan created the “Africatown Planning Area” of the City of Mobile, shaped like a boot.
         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area as prepared by MEJAC in Google Earth

         The Africatown Planning Area “boot” contrasts with the Africatown Historic District by its much larger size, reflecting the extent to which the Africatown community described itself and its historic connections to the lands around it (within the City of Mobile).

         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area compared to the National Park Service’s Africatown Historic District as prepared by MEJAC in Google Earth

         Under its “Goal 2 Halt Blight and Neighborhood Decline” on page 10, the Plan talks about the need to “Avoid further industrial encroachment.” It elaborates, “Where opportunities emerge, existing industrial zoning on currently residential, vacant or undevelopable property (i.e., wetland areas) that does not conform to the Land Use Plan should be adjusted.”

         One such adjustment illustrated by the Africatown Neighborhood Plan on page 15, shows a “proposed Three Mile Creek access” point.

         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Neighborhood Plan’s illustrations of a proposed Three Mile Creek access point in Magazine Point

         That access point was further described in the Plan’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM) on page 26.

         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Neighborhood Plan’s Future Land Use Map images, illustrating the proposed Three Mile Creek access point in Magazine Point

      3. Africatown Public Comment to ASPA’s Mobile Harbor GRR Ship Channel Enlargement Project (January 2016-June 2019)
         Throughout the multi-year public participation opportunities provided during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)-prescribed Mobile Harbor Ship Channel Enlargement General Reevaluation Report (GRR) & Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process, MEJAC provided copious EJ public comment to ASPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE) regarding:
         1. project scoping (“MEJAC’s Public Comment on the Scope of the Mobile Harbor Ship Channel Deepening and Widening EIS”);
         2. the public engagement process (“Is the Corps Taking Citizen Input Seriously? MEJAC Responds to Ship Channel Enlargement Public Meetings”);
         3. the numerous unaddressed EJ concerns (“Down the Bay & Orange Grove EJ Petitions Delivered to US Army Corps of Engineers”); and
         4. the ultimate failings of ASPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers to address EJ concerns that residents and stakeholders raised about how increased good movement tonnage at the Port of Mobile would impact fenceline communities like Africatown and Down the Bay and others (“Appendix E – Public Comments and Responses, Mobile Harbor GRR & SEIS”).
            

            A graphic by the US Army Corps of Engineers illustrating the Mobile Harbor GRR/SEIS process

   At the time, the lack of completion in the NEPA Public Comment response requirements was chalked up to the change in federal administrations while the course of the NEPA process was underway.

   The Africatown stakeholders involved in the process vowed to never again allow ASPA to steamroll and ignore their interests again.

   1. The Africatown Connections Blueway Place of Baptisms Point Of Interest (est. by Spring 2018)
      The Africatown Connections Blueway Planning Team was established by a technical assistance grant awarded to the Mobile County Training School Alumni Association through the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program in 2016. Today the Blueway is a project of the AHPF.By spring of 2018, the Africatown Connections Blueway project not only had a basemap illustrating its proposed Points of Interest connecting historic Africatown with the undeveloped Africatown park in Prichard, AL but also had comprehensive landscape architectural design sketches for each point of interest and a greenway connecting them all in the Africatown Planning Area. Based on guidance from the Africatown Neighborhood Plan FLUM, the Place of Baptisms point of interest on the Africatown Connections Blueway was placed on Three Mile Creek at the vacant wetlands next to the Terminal Railway bridge.

      “South of the Magazine Point neighborhood and on the northern banks of The Three Mile Creek in the two mile distance between The Mobile River and Telegraph Road were numerous places that were used by residents of Africatown for religious baptism.”

      

      A graphic by Mississippi State University illustrating the Africatown Connections Blueway’s Place of Baptisms Point Of Interest on a larger map of proposed improvements in the Lewis Quarters, Happy Hill, Kelly Hill, and Magazine Point neighborhoods

   2. The Africatown and Africatown Safety Zone Overlays (est. July 2022)
      The fear that any residential land lost was at risk of overnight being turned to industrial land use was such a persistent fear in the community that leaders committed to developing zoning protections for the currently residential core of the Africatown Planning Area. To this end, the community was consistent in its presence during the half decade of public comment opportunities for the development of the City of Mobile zoning code rewrite known as the Unified Development Code (UDC). Through many direct negotiations among critical Africatown stakeholders and advocates, which included multiple representatives from ASPA, the UDC ultimately passed in July 2022 with specific zoning direction within the Africatown Planning Area known as the Africatown Overlay and additional areas of more intense land use restrictions known as the Africatown Safety Zone Overlay.
      

      A map illustrating the City of Mobile’s Africatown Safety Zone

   3. AHPF EPA EJ Collaborative Problem Solving Grant Application (January 2023)
      In the interest of multi-stakeholder engagement and community building among residents and entities like ASPA, the AHPF applied for multi-year grant support through EPA and its EJ Collaborative Problem Solving (EJ CPS) program. The “EJ for Africatown Plateau” initiative was intended to “engage, educate, and empower the historic Africatown community to lead sustainable, strength based endogenous development and revitalization efforts that integrate addressing its environmental and public health issues.” The proposed project activities included:
      • Air quality monitoring
      • Water quality monitoring and sampling
      • Community beautification: clean-up of waste, trash, and prevention of illegal dumping
      • Environmental education, job awareness of and introduction to EJ and green infrastructure careers
      • Youth-Youth, and intergenerational public training and education on Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience
      • Capacity strengthening of EJ CBOs and broader institutions
      • Engagement of disadvantaged communities in Local, State and Federal public processes, such as advisory groups, workshops, and rulemakings about the future built environment of Africatown
      • Outreach, knowledge production and sharing of legacy and contemporary EJ and public health issues, especially best practices within EPA Region IV
      • Building selected CBOs to be an EJ “Hub” for Africatown, but also at state, national and global levelsAlthough ultimately unsuccessful despite a strong proposal in the most competitive EJ EPA grant process ever, the initiative clearly illustrates the resolve of the AHPF to directly address the gaps in services and data in the public record with respect to Africatown as both a place and a people.
      

      The cover graphic of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model manual

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3. Assessing Where the Goals of Federal Environmental Justice (EJ) Programs and the Justice40 Initiative (Justice40) Fit Into the Project 
   1. EJ & Justice40 Background
      The Environmental Protection Agency defines Environmental Justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys: the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards; and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.”Executive Order 14008, signed January 27, 2021 established the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which made it a central goal of the administration to see 40% of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, and related federal investments to communities that are marginalized, overburdened by pollution, and underserved by infrastructure and other basic services.Federal agency guidance has clarified specific programs covered by the Justice40 Initiative, which includes the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Program (CRISI) at US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
   2. Africatown Environmental Profile
      To understand the extremely vulnerable position in which Africatown has been left by generations of abusive treatment of Africatown by industry, it doesn’t take much effort. Truly, a proper community tour reveals more than many hearts can handle, but for the purposes of this report and for anybody wanting to develop infrastructure for or simply in the Africatown community, there are many resources that help in illustrating the lack of protections and considerations afforded.
      1. The Africatown Planning Area Is Overburdened by Industrial and Mobile Pollution Sources
         The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) issues 6 Major Source air pollution permits for facilities in Africatown and issues 5 additional Minor Source air pollution permits.There are more than 40 separate businesses engaged in industrial land uses, according to the City of Mobile Code definitions in Chapter 64, its Zoning Code. There are two municipal sewage treatment facilities.There are 3 Class I Railroads that divide Africatown in addition to ASPA’s terminal TASD railroad. There are 2 Interstate Highway and 2 State Highway systems that further divide Africatown.The following are maps maintained by MEJAC to illustrate these realities.
         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area and the National Park Service’s Africatown Historic District illustrated with its state and federal highways highlighted in Google Earth by MEJAC

         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area and the National Park Service’s Africatown Historic District illustrated with its major rail systems highlighted in Google Earth by MEJAC

         

         The City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area and the National Park Service’s Africatown Historic District illustrated with its more than 40 industrial land uses (as of summer 2022) highlighted in Google Earth by MEJAC

      2. Africatown Contains a Huge Concentration of Title V Permitted Facilities and Mobile Sources of Air Pollution
         The following map was produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center for a joint public comment sent regarding ADEM’s 2022 Air Monitoring Network Plan in which MEJAC submitted more than 70 pages of technical public comment based on professional permit reviews for most of the permitted facilities in Africatown shows the 6 Major Source and 6 Minor Source air pollution permitees in Africatown.
         

         Map illustrating facilities in Africatown that must receive federal air pollution permits via the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to operate (as of fall 2023), as prepared by the Southern Environmental Law Center for MEJAC

      3. The Closest Mobile County NAAQS Air Monitor is More than 3 Miles Away from Many Africatown Residences
         Despite the clear overconcentration of Major and Minor air pollution permitted facilities in Africatown, the closest ADEM NAAQS air quality monitor is located in Chickasaw. There are two Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) reporting monitors in Mobile County. The closest to Africatown is situated more than 3 miles away from many Africatown residences. Africatown residents and stakeholders have long felt this is an unjustified air data gap in Mobile County and have a long public record of pressing ADEM and EPA to intervene. The following map prepared by MEJAC illustrates the absurdity of the reliance on data regarding air quality concerns in Africatown from this monitor. The historic 308 Chin Street residence is illustrated for this example’s sake, because at less than 160 feet away, it is the closest home to the TASD tracks. Yet, air data from the monitor in Chickasaw would almost undoubtedly be used by ASPA to disregard any air quality concerns there.
         

         A map illustrating the most proximate federal air quality monitor that reports National Ambient Air Quality Standard pollution levels to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, more than 3 miles away from the home in Africatown nearest to ASPA’s proposed railyard expansion

      4. EJScreen Mapping Data for Africatown Should Raise Concerns for Federal Grant Applicants and Reviewers Alike
         EPA’s EJScreen mapping tool is strongly encouraged for federal grant applicants. The EJScreen data when the Africatown Planning Area shape is drawn reveals many potential “EJ Index” and “Supplemental Index” concerns.The report shows Africatown in the 90th and 95th percentile for several air pollution indicators for the State of Alabama, strongly suggesting that Africatown air pollution should be of particular concern to state and federal air quality regulators and public health advocates.
         

         A report about the City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area prepared using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Screening Mapping Tool EJ Screen illustrating its “Environmental Justice and Supplemental Indexes” charts showing Africatown in the 90th and 95th percentile for many air pollution indicators for the State of Alabama

         EJScreen reports are useful also for federal grant reviewers to understand community vulnerabilities and to identify potential federal service gaps. The following “EJScreen Environmental and Socioeconomic Indicators Data” chart shows Africatown in the 92nd percentile for “Low Life Expectancy”, among other high values for other quality of life, pollution, and public health indicators.

         

         A report about the City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area prepared using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Screening Mapping Tool EJ Screen illustrating its “EJScreen Environmental and Socioeconomic Indicators Data” chart showing Africatown in the 92nd percentile for “Low Life Expectancy”, among other values for other quality of life, pollution, and public health indicators

      5. Despite Multiple Critical Rail Incidents in Africatown since 2000, Mobile County Apparently Lacks a Chemical Incident Emergency Response Plan
         It is common practice during inclement weather events to have ASPA rail terminals around the Port of Mobile cleared and evacuated to the Africatown area, which is very anxiety inducing to residents and stakeholders for several reasons.In the last several years, Mobile County Emergency Management Agency (MCEMA) has developed new capabilities for communications with smartphones and cell phones. For instance, they invested in geofencing technology instead of refurbishing the aging emergency siren system throughout Mobile County.But having a capability is not the same as having a plan, and Africatown advocates have yet to receive any response after almost a year of requesting the MCEMA’s formal chemical emergency response plan even though rail disasters and other emergencies are not strangers to the Africatown community.
         
         1) Early 2000s – A Chlorine Derailment and Release
         The story told in Africatown about the chlorine derailment and release into the heart of the residential Plateau neighborhood in the early 2000s that happened on Norfolk Southern‘s rails through the community is that there was no information offered to the community and no emergency response regarding health whatsoever. Days after the event, attorneys representing the railway held a community meeting where residents could accept a $50 check for permanently indemnifying Norfolk Southern and releasing them from any future claims of health impacts from chlorine exposure. The residents who withheld their signature claimed to have attorneys who said they would champion their cause, but as far as MEJAC is aware, no suit was ever filed.2) May 2018 – A Polyacrylamide Emergency, Release, and Evacuation
         On May 30, 2018, a rapidly overheating polyacrylamide tanker car arrived at the now-Sterling Specialty Chemicals LLC (formerly Kemira Water Solutions) chemical refinery in the Hog Bayou area of Africatown, indicating a runaway chemical reaction within. Mobile Fire Rescue was dispatched to pour water over the tank to cool it off, but eventually it was decided to off gas the chemicals within to prevent an explosion.A neighborhood in Chickasaw was evacuated in a most disorganized and uncoordinated manner that left minors walking down railroad tracks calling their parents at work to pick them up, residents releasing animals for fear of a poison cloud approaching, many not knowing what they would find upon return, and many not understanding from where reliable information about safe return would come.Despite relatively close proximity to residential Africatown, no residents there were notified about anything at all. They learned what there was to know about the emergency unfolding 1,500 feet from them on the television from reporters who knew very little themselves.In the wake of the chemical emergency, MEJAC and other Africatown advocates pressed the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency (MCEMA) to develop a formal chemical response plan. At a quarterly community engagement meeting of the Africatown~CHESS organization, residents and stakeholders provided clear direction to the MCEMA Director who attended to answer questions. As far as MEJAC is aware, no action was taken at that time with respect to a plan.Again in early 2023 at a meeting of the Africatown Steering Committee for ALDOT’s Mobile River Bridge (I-10 Toll Bridge and Bayway) project, the absence of a chemical emergency response plan for first responders and community was raised. The Mayor of Mobile, Sandy Stimpson was present at that meeting and told those gathered he would get answers.At the following month’s meeting, the latest MCEMA Director Doug Cooper shared that, in fact, the MCEMA had one of the best chemical emergency response plans in the country. The community gathered requested a copy of the plan and for an opportunity to provide feedback. He assured those gathered that he would provide it to MEJAC. Over the next several months, MEJAC requested multiple times for that document and engagement opportunity, even requesting intervention from Mobile County Human Resources over the dramatic choice by the MCEMA Director to stop all communication with MEJAC, to no avail.If MCEMA has a chemical emergency response plan for first responders and the community, they are not sharing it with Africatown and other Environmental Justice advocates in Mobile County.3) July 2023 – A Large Warehouse Fire Burns for Weeks but Africatown is told the Chickasaw Air Monitor Says Africatown Air is Fine
         The third fire in three years started in July 2023 at a Merchants Transfer Company warehouse that is literally on the fenceline of many residential homes in the Africatown Historic District.• 2/16/21, AL.com, “Mobile firefighter injured in early morning warehouse blaze”
         • 12/24/21, WKRG, “Fire extinguished on Paper Mill Road in Mobile”
         • 7/26/23, NBC15, “Africatown residents concerned with warehouse fire smoke”Many Africatown residents self evacuated because the first two times the fires burned at that warehouse they became very ill.

         A community meeting was finally held at Africatown’s Robert Hope Community Center on August 7. The fire was still smoldering. Several evacuated residents were still away. At this meeting, ADEM presented data from the NAAQS air quality monitor 3 miles away in Chickasaw to suggest that there were no air quality concerns with Africatown residents breathing warehouse fire smoke everyday for weeks.

         The fire continued to smolder for several more weeks after this community meeting…

         The purpose of sharing these anecdotes is to illustrate how unsatisfactory it will likely be to some Africatown residents and stakeholders to receive ASPA reassurances around MCEMA chemical emergency response planning and existing ADEM air monitoring information in the case of an accidental derailment, release, or other emergency situation.

         When does a community with the extraordinary concentration of hazardous materials via rail, truck, and pipeline have an opportunity to review emergency response planning documents and provide constructive feedback with respect to its particular concerns?

         Africatown has a high number of shut-ins, many residents without cell phone access, many others without smartphone proficiency, and other particular needs which require meaningful engagement through which first responding agencies around can learn and make actual plans.

         

         Africatown Post-Warehouse Fire Community Meeting flyer from summer 2023

   3. Rail Project-Specific Relevant Federal Data and Information Gaps
      The Biden Administration has created many tools to help guide federal infrastructure investment to help minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits for overburdened and underserved communities like Africatown. These include online mapping tools like the EJScreen tool shared earlier, but also the FRA’s own Justice40 Rail Explorer mapping tool, which provides its own unique data journey.
      1. 1. Justice40 Rail Explorer Mapping Data Raises Additional Pollution Concerns
            Here, the tool suggests how the Magazine Point neighborhood of Africatown is at the 89.68th percentile of all US communities facing toxic Diesel pollution based on federal data.
            

            A screenshot of the Justice40 Rail Explorer mapping tool showing air quality indexes for the census tract covering Africatown’s Lewis Quarters, Happy Hills, Kelly Hill, and Magazine Point neighborhoods

            The map also illustrates how both the Plateau and Magazine Point neighborhoods of Africatown are at the 78.90th percentile for toxic PM 2.5 pollution.

            

            A screenshot of the Justice40 Rail Explorer mapping tool showing air quality indexes for the census tract covering Africatown’s Lewis Quarters, Happy Hills, Kelly Hill, and Magazine Point neighborhoods

            The administration’s use of multiple information sharing channels has been helpful for the community to discover information about the Africatown Railyard Expansion project that hasn’t been shared, but not all information can be readily obtained.

         2. Africatown Railyard Expansion CRISI Proposal was Never Offered to Africatown Stakeholders for Review
            According to a FRA letter received by the Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation (AHPF) via email and dated August 23, 2023, the FRA has already agreed to fund a grant proposal from ASPA for the proposed Terminal Railyard Expansion in Africatown aka the “Chickasaw Railroad Lead Line” project through the USDOT’s discretionary CRISI program.The purpose of the letter’s arrival to the AHPF was to satisfy statutory requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations due to proximity to the Africatown Historic District, and we are grateful to that careful responsiveness to the law. Unfortunately before inclusion on this single email by the FRA Historian/Archeologist, Africatown groups were not aware that ASPA had been developing or had submitted a federal grant proposal that would impact its vulnerable community so directly and have not yet been afforded an opportunity to review ASPA’s proposal itself to more directly understand its merits. By only consulting with Africatown stakeholders with respect to potential historic district impacts, EJ concerns were sidelined in the deliberation process by ASPA and others at FRA.

       

      1. 1. Regular Information Channels Curated by the FRA and ASPA Failed to Provide Information about the Africatown Railway Expansion Project aka “Chickasaw Railroad Lead Line”
            Despite the fact that at least one other recent ASPA federal grant proposal is available with generous detail on ASPA’s website for US DOT’s Port Infrastructure Development Program through its Maritime Administration, the CRISI grant proposal for the Africatown Railway Expansion project isn’t published on the ASPA website. It doesn’t even appear to be mentioned at all.Additionally, when the FY22 CRISI-funded projects were announced on September 25, 2023, by the FRA, the Africatown Railyard Expansion Project aka “Chickasaw Railroad Lean Line” was not listed among funded projects and can’t reasonably be assumed to be part of the AMTRAK passenger rail funding also being awarded to improvements at the Port of Mobile. Obscuring a major federal rail project impacting Africatown in this way is absolutely inappropriate and deeply disrespectful of the community. Both ASPA and FRA should account for this sort of discrepancy, which runs the risk of being perceived as intentional obstruction of public information.

       

      1. 1. On “Fair Treatment”, “Meaningful Involvement”
            Given the lack of availability of specific proposal information, the Africatown Railyard Expansion aka “Chickasaw Railroad Lead Line” project cannot reasonably be considered to have successfully met the basic EJ principles of the Biden Administration.Referring back to the City of Mobile’s Africatown Neighborhood Plan, again under its “Goal 2 Halt Blight and Neighborhood Decline” on the page 10 subheading “Encourage improvements on industrial properties”, the Plan encourages “ongoing meetings with representatives of the Port Authority, Chamber of Commerce and area industries to develop stronger relations between these neighbors and pursue efforts that are mutually beneficial.” By virtually all accounts among Africatown residents and stakeholders, these have not been happening in any manner that constitutes “meaning involvement” “with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” where the Port is concerned. The Plan states the obvious as a conclusion to this goal, “Ideally, a strong relationship between industry representatives and Africatown’s community leaders would allow the two groups to resolve issues productively with or without the City as arbiter.”

       

      1. On “40% of the Overall Benefits”
         Without the availability of the specific proposal information, there’s no way to reasonably assess if the Africatown Railyard Expansion meets the goal of providing “40% of its overall benefits” to the community it impacts.

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4. Working with Available Data (The Phase 1 Archeological Survey & Alabama Historical Commission State Historic Preservation Office Section 106 Project Review Consultation Form)
   1. 1. A Closer Look At Proximity to Homes and Assets of the Africatown Historic District
         1. Historic 308 Chin Street, Less Than 160 Feet from the Railroad Tracks
            At the southeastern edge of the Africatown Historic District, within the City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area, Africatown Overlay, and the Africatown Safety Zone, 308 Chin Street sits less than 160 feet away from the existing TASD Railway that the project would expand.
            

            Google Map print showing Historic Chin Street home in Africatown less than 160 feet away from the railyard that the Port wants to expand in Africatown

            308 Chin Street is a contributing structure to the Africatown Historic District.

            The resident living there was outraged when he heard about the expansion project plans, because he is already directly impacted by the noise of operations as is, often enough overnight to cause some panic when he was contacted by MEJAC.

            It is unconscionable to not have at least given the opportunity for Africatown leadership of conscience to speak with this resident about the project before now.

         2. Historic Mobile County Training School Athletic Field, Less than 310 Feet Away from the Tracks
            On the northern end of the Africatown Historic District, within the City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area, Africatown Overlay, and the Africatown Safety Zone, the historic Mobile County Training School’s athletic field is less than 310 feet away from the proposed TASD railyard expansion.
            

            Google Map print showing the historic Mobile County Training School athletic field less than 310 feet away from the Port’s railyard expansion in Africatown

            While the entire campus of the now middle school may not be considered historic, the westernmost complex of buildings are historically important contributing structures to the Africatown Historic District. It is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in all of Alabama, a surviving example of the Rosenwald School Program with a rich and active Alumni Heritage.

         3. Historic 1133 Jakes Lane, Furthest Away, Still Less Than 1,320 Feet Away
            On the northwestern end of the Africatown Historic District, within the City of Mobile’s Africatown Planning Area, Africatown Overlay, and the Africatown Safety Zone, the 1133 Jakes Lanes sits at the furthest distance away from the proposed TASD railyard expansion, just 1,320 feet.
            

            Google Maps Print showing a historic Jakes Lane home only 1,320 feet away from the Port’s desired Africatown railyard expansion

            1133 Jakes Lane is a contributing structure to the Africatown Historic District.  This area is also home to the Africatown Community Garden with a history going back about 55 years. The northern portion of  the Plateau section of Africatown, between Jakes Lane and Paper Mill Road, was also known as “New Quarters”.  This stretch of the railyard expansion project will actually have 3 tracks total, where the rest of the project will expand to only 2 tracks from 1.

            Similar to the residents along Chin Street, when those on Jakes Lane were made aware, they also had noise complaints about theses Port of Mobile railroad tracks.

      2. Archeological Report Assertions Regarding Locomotive Traffic Levels Potentially Contradict the Project Purpose
         In the Alabama Historical Commission State Historic Preservation Office Section 106 Project Review Consultation Form (AHC 106 Form), under the “Effects Determination” section on page 5 of the document, ASPA asserts “[TASD] rail traffic is not anticipated to change as a result of the proposed project.” But is that not the anticipated outcome of the project? To allow more efficient traffic flow on the railway? And wouldn’t that be a change?This simply defies the logic governing the requirement of CRISI funds to solve a problem, but without the grant proposal, a reasonable conclusion can’t be reached on whether or not the assertion that “rail traffic is not anticipated to change” is contradictory to the nature of the funding request.

    

   1. 1. Contrary to the Project’s Phase I Cultural Resources Survey, Project Noise Concerns Warrant Mitigation Both During Construction and After
         As noted in the case of 308 Chin Street, existing noise conditions are intolerable for residents of the Africatown Historic District currently. The Phase 1 Cultural Resources Survey prepared for Volkert dating August 3, 2023 asserts, “According to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment, there would be no moderate impact or severe impacts to residential or industrial land uses due to noise.” This assertion in particular lacks credibility simply due to the 160 feet distance between 308 Chin Street and the TASD tracks and workspace in question. Construction noise is certainly going to have impacts.
         Within the FTA guidance document referenced, “moderate” noise impacts are defined as “project-generated noise . . .considered to cause impact at the threshold of measurable annoyance”. The suggestion that a resident living within 160 feet of the heavy construction zone won’t feel “measurable annoyance” during the construction phase is patently ridiculous.That guidance defines “severe” noise impacts as “project-generated noise . . . likely to cause a high level of community annoyance”. How in the world could this author think a person living 160 feet away couldn’t possibly experience a “high level of community annoyance” at the noise of heavy construction?Sound level monitors and careful, consistent communication with residents should’ve at least been recommended, but other mitigation must be considered. It is absolutely unacceptable to expect residents living so close to not be impacted severely. In addition to Africatown residents, though, there are also the middle school students at the Mobile County Training School whose instruction may be disrupted by the heavy construction proposed to happen less than 500 feet from their classrooms.The Phase I Cultural Resources Survey submitted for this project is an exercise in dehumanization, and it must be redone with particularly close attention to how close the proposed project’s construction zone will be to people simply living their daily lives. Historic Africatown is not a do-what-you-wanna heavy construction zone, and the fact that its residents, young people, and visitors to its sacred spaces must jump through practically endless hoops to be seen as having human expectations for comfort, safety, and reasonable accommodation is the entire problem with the ongoing lack of fair treatment and meaningful involvement in infrastructure projects proposed for the neighborhood by ASPA. After construction, any increase in traffic will be distressing to nearby Africatown Historic District residents.

    

   1. 1. Potential Visual Impacts to the Africatown Historic District Viewshed Appear Totally Unacknowledged in Phase I Cultural Resources Survey
         In the AHC 106 Form, under the “Area of Potential (APE)” section on page 3 of the document, the AHC provides guidance suggesting that “the APE might include the viewshed”, but the project’s Phase I Cultural Resources Survey doesn’t once mention the proposed project’s visual impacts to the Africatown Historic District. Industrial blight is the visual evidence of industrial land use and it very often has severe impacts on perceptions of an area, particularly on a vulnerable community like Africatown’s ability to undergo meaningful revitalization and redevelopment in its residential neighborhoods.
         As mentioned previously, concerns over industrial blight are referenced in Africatown planning documents going back to the Africatown Neighborhood Plan.Concerns over the use of the additional tracks, how frequently and the quantity of railcars to be parked on them, as well as the type of railcars to be moved across them are all valid concerns for any historic district or residential neighborhood struggling to earn “fair treatment” and “meaningful involvement” against a pattern and practice of dehumanization. The available documentation also does not demonstrate any plan for the landscaping that is proposed to be removed by the expanded footprint of the rail tracks. Industrial zone landscaping requirements were something that Africatown residents and stakeholders fought for years  to be included in the Mobile zoning code rewrite process that birthed the Africatown Safety Zone, which boasts stronger, more protective buffer zone requirements between Industrial and Residential zones precisely for the reasons that Africatown residents and stakeholders are upset with the proposed TASD railyard expansion.

    

   1. Increased Railyard Traffic Means Increased Air Pollution from Locomotive Engines and their Uncovered Contents
      Fugitive fumes, haze, and dust have all been long-standing concerns of the Africatown community. Dust from uncovered railroad contents have been on the minds of residents for years. Understanding what ASPA is doing to mitigate fugitive dust from the movement of bulk mineral including aggregate, coal, and other minerals along its Africatown TASD tracks is important to residents and stakeholders. Additionally, advocates are aware that locomotive emission regulations haven’t been updated by EPA in 15 years despite an overwhelming scientific consensus around the serious health impacts from even one-time exposure to toxic locomotive air pollution.
      MEJAC has been advocating for the Biden Administration to strengthen the rules around locomotive emissions since 2021 with fellow port-community environmental justice organizations around the country as part of the Moving Forward Network.The figure below illustrates three possible mechanisms accounting for cardiovascular effects associated with particle pollution (PM) exposure.
      

      (1) Particles induce an inflammatory response in the lungs, leading to release of cytokines and other mediators that ‘spill-over’ into the systemic circulation. (2) Some ultrafine particles can translocate from the alveolus into the circulation and then interact directly with the heart and vasculature with or without the participation of inflammatory cells. (3) Particles might activate pulmonary sensory receptors and modulate the autonomic nervous system. Oxidative stress could play a role in exacerbating the stages of each pathway, as well as promoting interactions between pathways (e.g., in conjunction with inflammation). [From particles to patients: oxidative stress and the cardiovascular effects of air pollution. Future Cardiology 8(4):577-602).]

      Here are some news articles, EPA briefs, and important studies discussing the impacts of PM pollution, a major pollutant from locomotive traffic which, for the sake of the health of the community, must not increase in Africatown:• NBC News, 9/27/23 – Even short-term exposure to air pollution may raise risk of stroke, study finds (https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/even-short-term-exposure-air-pollution-may-raise-risk-stroke-study-fin-rcna117673)• EPA – Health and Environmental Effects of Particulate Matter (PM) (https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm)• EPA – Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease Basics (https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-basics)

      • EPA – Particle Pollution and Cardiovascular Effects (https://www.epa.gov/pmcourse/particle-pollution-and-cardiovascular-effects)

      • EPA – Clinical Outcomes Related to Particulate Matter Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease (https://www.epa.gov/air-research/clinical-outcomes-related-particulate-matter-exposure-and-cardiovascular-disease)

      • Journal of the American Heart Association, 12/31/2020 – Long‐Term PM2.5 Exposure and Risks of Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke Events: Review and Meta‐Analysis (https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.016890)

      • National Institute of Health, 9/12/2022 – The Impact of Fine Particulate Matter 2.5 on the Cardiovascular System: A Review of the Invisible Killer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370264/)

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5. ADDENDUM – FORTHCOMING
   MEJAC will share more context about the project that’s been learned ASAP. Stay tuned!

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