(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Frederic J. Frommer on February 17.)
WASHINGTON — Senate and House members from Minnesota introduced legislation Friday that would require congressional approval before the Department of Transportation could make a $2.3 billion loan for the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad’s coal train project.
The separate bills in both chambers would require congressional approval of any DOT loan of more than $1 billion. The city of Rochester, Minn., and the Mayo Clinic have objected to the DM&E expansion because it would mean more trains running through the city and close to the clinic.
Last month, the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration determined the DM&E’s project had met the requirements of the federal environmental review process, triggering a 90-day period during which the railroad administration must approve or reject the loan.
“Only 73 days remain before a decision must be made by FRA, and there still isn’t a mitigation plan that protects Rochester,” said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who introduced the Senate bill with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. “This project poses serious safety concerns for Rochester, and we believe that transportation loans of this magnitude should be voted on by Congress.”
Klobuchar said the legislation will give Congress the opportunity to protect the concerns of Rochester and Minnesota.
“More generally, this bill will allow members of Congress to do their job to protect the public interest by reviewing and approving loans that affect thousands of their constituents,” she said, “and to make sure that any billion-dollar loan to a private company is a good investment of the public’s money.”
The similar House bill was sponsored by Reps. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Mark Udall, D-Colo. The Mayo Clinic is in Walz’s district.
“Unfortunately, the current loan approval process doesn’t incorporate meaningful input from the public,” Walz said. “Requiring congressional approval will give people access to the process through their elected representatives.”
Udall said he was sponsoring the bill to increase congressional accountability and to reduce the chance the taxpayers will get stuck with the loan should it not be repaid.
Despite the flurry of legislation, Coleman has said it will be challenging to stop the project in Congress.
A spokesman for Mayo Clinic praised the bills.
“This is common sense legislation,” said the spokesman, Chris Gade. “It’s not unreasonable to think Congress should have a say in whether DM&E or any other private company is worthy of receiving billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers.”
Kevin Schieffer, DM&E’s president, expressed frustration with the legislation.
“I would have a hard time thinking of a process that has had more scrutiny than this one,” he said.
“From a policy standpoint, that was not applied to our competitors,” he said of the proposed congressional approval requirement. “After nine years of debate, it seems a bit of a stretch to me that someone on a policy ground will make a case to change the rules in the middle of the game.”
The DM&E wants to add track to the Powder River Basin coalfields in Wyoming and upgrade its existing line in South Dakota and Minnesota. The $6 billion project would involve building about 280 miles of new track and upgrading 600 miles of existing track so trains could haul coal for power plants.