May 23,2014
On May 23, visiting Kings County Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols sided with the California High Speed Rail Authority in a dispute with Kings County.
The County,last year denied access to HSR engineers wanting to do soil testing at 58 sites along the proposed HSR route. An encroachment permit had been refused last summer forcing the State of California to seek a court order to allow street access for its geotechnical testing.
The dispute dates from a year ago – May 17, 2013, when the California High Speed Rail Authority advised the County of the survey and soil work it proposed to perform within the county. On May 24, 2013, the Authority was advised that it would need to obtain an encroachment permit for the work that was proposed.But on August 16 the County denied the normally routine permit request, saying the project had failed to address County’s health, safety and welfare concerns.
In their court pleading the County argued the state needed to go through eminent domain procedures and compared the testing to a “taking of property.”
“Petitioner proposes soil borings and piezometer installations for the purpose of measuring ground water levels which will then be sealed with bentonite. Petitioner fails to address or take into account any water quality degradation issues which may affect the County, underlying landowners, or implicate the intervention of the Regional Water Quality Control Board.”
Also the County again cited opposition to the high speed rail project “which has been fraught with a lack of communication, coordination, and opportunity for meaningful comment to address the concerns of the County, a coordinating agency in the NEPA.”
Further the County argued that if the purpose of the petition is to obtain samples for route design, then it is premature given that there has been no certified alignment or EIR.”
Of course a few days ago, the Authority did certify the EIR.
Replying to the County’s assertions, Cal-Trans attorney John Fredrick Smith argued that the public right-of -way is land held by the county ”as the State’s agent,subject to the State’s right of use of same.”
“It is regrettable that the County’s enmity toward the high speed train system has colored its approach”…and “ the court should order the access of public right-of-way which the State require,” he concluded.
Today the judge did just that – with the soil testing likely to to begin along the proposed route in a few weeks say sources.
CHSRA spokesperson Elizabeth Jonasson said “We are pleased that the Court agreed with our legal position and has now issued an order authorizing us to perform necessary preliminary testing and surveys in the public right of way. Work is anticipated to begin shortly.”