(The following report appeared on the Rochester Post-Bulletin website on October 28.)
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic is calling on the federal government to conduct a thorough review before approving a sale of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad to Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Mayo filed its request in writing on Thursday with the federal Surface Transportation Board, the regulatory agency that will review the sale.
“Mayo Clinic does not object to DM&E being sold,” said Chris Gade, a Mayo Clinic spokesman, in a press release.
“We are simply asking for a complete and thoughtful review of a transaction that may have a tremendous impact on our community and for the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue with the railroad’s new owners before the purchase is approved.”
Mayo asked the STB to reconsider a procedural schedule associated with review of the transaction, and to ensure the railroads’ application includes information that verifies DM&E’s revenues, addresses the prospect of future movement of Powder River Basin coal traffic over the line, and addresses trackside safety.
The purchase could result in as many as 43 trains passing through Rochester per day, based on a condition of the proposal sale agreement in which Canadian Pacific will pay DM&E $1 billion in additional payments if it transports 125 million tons of coal in a calendar year. That’s 25 million more tons of coal than the highest level of traffic analyzed in DM&E’s earlier applications that won STB approval.
Additional environmental review is warranted for that reason alone, Mayo Clinic says.