(The Associated Press circulated the following article on June 3.)
GREEN RIVER, Mont. — A $400 million plan to build a rail line that would give soda ash companies a shipping option besides Union Pacific has encountered local skepticism.
The rail line linking Green River and Burlington Northern/Santa Fe’s line at Shoshoni is being pitched by Marty Manasco, president of Riverton-based WyoTrans Inc., and BNSF’s general director for public-private partnerships until last year.
“The business plan will work and will see an ample return on our investment … but we won’t get very far without some level of public support,” Manasco told the Sweetwater County Commission on Tuesday.
“We need to determine the level of support … before we start securing capital,” he said. “A critical component of the success of the project will be support from county businesses and community leaders.”
Manasco and Pat Robbins, executive director of the Sweetwater Economic Development Association, asked the commission to help fund an economic impact study of the proposal.
“We still think this project is viable and needs to be investigated to a further degree to see what the level of interest is,” Robbins said.
She said the study could be funded by a community development planning grant from the Wyoming Business Council, with a local match of $8,300 from the commission. “At the state level, they want to see grass-roots support for projects,” she said.
But commissioners questioned using public funds on a feasibility study of the project. “The problem I see is we get the study done and it lays on the shelf and nothing happens,” Commissioner Ted Ware said.
“Anybody who has the bucks to make a $400 million investment doesn’t need our $8,000 and that tells me there is no capital in this … Why do a study for something that can’t happen?
“Normally … you would do your own studies, get your investors and then build the railroad, but you want a public study done and the only reason I can fathom that is that you want public dollars.”
He was skeptical that public money should be used to fund competition in the private sector.
A joint venture was developed between BNSF and Sweetwater County’s four soda ash producers between 1997 and 2000. The venture resulted in the Tri-Basin Railroad Project, a proposed rail line between Shoshoni and Green River.
The project came to a halt when Union Pacific reduced its rates on soda ash shipping.
Manasco said lack of competition has resulted in “exorbitant premiums” on shipping charges for soda ash and other projects, and limits development of natural resources.