PIERRE, S.D. — Fort Pierre Mayor Sam Tidball said “a lawsuit would be a thing of last resort” regarding Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s plans to upgrade its line. He said trying to legally force DM&E to build a bypass would be too costly and “probably not very productive,” the Pierre Capital Journal reports.
Pierre Mayor Gary Drewes has reportedly said bypass negotiations with DM&E will continue outside of the courtroom. Drewes was unavailable for comment.
Tidball said, “At this point we’re hoping to be able to work with them and try to maybe come up with some public funding for assistance in getting a bypass.
“We’re just trying to negotiate the best deal we can for the community,” he said.
The upgrade, proposed in connection with tapping coal fields in Wyoming, would mean exponentially more trains passing through town at faster speeds. Citizens, civic groups and leaders banded together in a campaign last year to flood the federal Surface Transportation Board with letters supporting a bypass.
The STB is the federal entity that drafted an environmental impact statement regarding the project. The lengthy document was released a couple of weeks ago and essentially approved of the overall project without bypasses.
Bob Parsons is a Pierre citizen who helped organize a petition drive that gathered pro-bypass signatures that were forwarded to the STB. He said he is disappointed in the STB’s findings.
“Once again, the government has proven that they pay absolutely no attention to the people,” Parsons said. “When you get over 5,000 signatures in an area with a population as small as Pierre and Fort Pierre, you know that you have real predominant support for the bypass.”
However, Parsons said he is not surprised that all of the letters and signatures submitted to the STB went seemingly unheeded. He said he has written a letter to the STB expressing his disappointment and imploring the agency to reconsider a bypass for the community.
Of settling the matter in court, Parsons said, “I personally am in no position to say whether or not a lawsuit is the right way to go.
“As far as I’m concerned, we should do whatever it takes to be sure that the bypass does occur – that the DM&E is not successful in destroying our communities.”
Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Rick Jorgensen said no formal meetings have been held to discuss what the communities can do. However, he said he has discussed the matter with Drewes and knows that two consultants have been hired to help with negotiations.
According to Jorgensen, the STB’s final EIS dedicated about 70 pages to the issue of a bypass around Pierre and Fort Pierre, though it was not recommended. He agrees that a lawsuit would cost time and money without guaranteeing a suitable solution.
“I don’t think either one of our communities really have those kinds of dollars to put towards that,” Jorgensen said.