Permit authorizing Canadian interests to construct a replacement railway tunnel

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 24, 1993

May 17, 1993

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, I hereby grant permission to Permittees, the Canadian National Railway Company, a Canadian Corporation with its principal offices in Montreal, Quebec, and its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, the Grand Trunk Corporation, a Delaware corporation with its principal offices in Detroit, Michigan, and any jointly owned subsidiaries, to construct, operate, and maintain an international railway tunnel across the international boundary between the United States and Canada, between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, under the St. Clair River.

I have reviewed the application of the Permittees and find that the issuance of a Permit would serve the national interest. The Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have raised no objection to issuance of the Permit. Pursuant to the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. 403, the Corps of Engineers has also determined that the issuance of a Permit is appropriate and consistent with the public interest.

The term "facilities" as used in this permit means the rail tunnel and any land, structures, installations or equipment appurtenant thereto.

The term "United States facilities" as used in this permit means that part of the facilities in the United States.

As stated in Permittees' application of May 8, 1992, for a permit, including their accompanying submission of a feasibility study entitled "St. Clair, Initial Environmental Evaluation/Environmental Study Report," dated February 1992, and subsequent exchange of information, the United States facilities of the rail tunnel will consist of the following major components:

--A new tunnel bored beneath the St. Clair River, and deepening the existing open cuts on the Port Huron, Michigan, approach to develop portals for construction of the tunnel.

--The summit-to-international boundary length of the project within the United States is 5,853 feet (of a total summit-summit length of 12,726 feet). The length of the new tunnel, U.S. portal to international boundary, is approximately 2,749 feet (of a total portal-portal length of 6,136 feet).

--The new tunnel is located approximately on a tangent with an 89 foot offset north of the existing tunnel. A horizontal curve in the Sarnia, Ontario, portal narrows the difference in tunnel centerlines to 55 feet at the exit of the Sarnia, Ontario, portal. The vertical alignment is based on a maximum grade of 2.1 percent. The tunnel will have a downgrade of 1.8 percent from the Sarnia portal and 2.1 percent from the Port Huron portal with 0.35 percent grade under the river. The tunnel will have a minimum of 15 feet of cover over the crown under the river portion of the project. The interior diameter of the finished tunnel will be approximately 27 feet, 6 inches.

--The tunnel will be used for rail transport of freight and passengers.

This permit is subject to the following conditions:

Article 1. The United States facilities and operations herein described shall be subject to all the conditions, provisions, and requirements of this permit or any amendment thereof. This permit may be terminated at the will of the President of the United States of America, the Secretary of State of the United States of America or the Secretary's delegate or may be amended by the President, the Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate at will or upon proper application therefor. Permittees shall make no substantial change in the location of the United States facilities or in the operation authorized by this permit until such changes shall have been approved by the President of the United States of America, or the Secretary of State of the United States of America or the Secretary's delegate.

Article 2. The construction, operation, and maintenance of the facilities shall be in all material respects as described in Permittees' application of May 8, 1992, and documentation submitted in support thereof.

Article 3. The construction, operation, and maintenance of the United States facilities shall be subject to inspection and approval by the representatives of any Federal or State agency concerned. The Permittees shall allow duly authorized officers and employees of such agencies free and unrestricted access to said facilities as is necessary for the performance of their official duties.

Article 4. Permittees shall comply with all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations regarding the construction, operation, and maintenance of the United States facilities.

Article 5. Upon termination, revocation, or surrender of this permit, and unless otherwise agreed by the President of the United States of America or the Secretary of State of the United States of America or the Secretary's delegate, the United States facilities in the immediate vicinity of the international boundary line shall be filled in by and at the expense of the Permittees within such time as the President or the Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate may specify, and upon failure of the Permittees to remove this portion of the United States facilities as ordered, the President or Secretary of State or the Secretary's delegate may direct that possession of such facilities be taken and that they be removed at the expense of the Permittees; and the Permittees shall have no claim for damages by reason of such possession or removal.