On Sept. 14, Excelsior Springs residents got to publicly voice their concerns about a railroad merger that could make life much noisier and create other issues to address. Held at The Montgomery Event Venue, the forum included some background information, provided by Josh Wayland. Wayland is an environmental protection specialist with the Service Transportation Board (STB) Office of Environmental Analysis. The STB is a federal agency that’s responsible for reviewing and authorizing railroad mergers. “A railroad company called Canadian Pacific is requesting board authority to acquire a railroad company called Kansas City Southern. The board is reviewing that proposal,” Wayland announced. “Before the board can decide whether to approve the merger, it has to first consider the impacts of the merger on the environment, including on local communities.” The Office of Environmental Analysis conducts the environmental review, Wayland explained. The office is developing an…