ROCHESTER, MINN. — Olmsted County, Minn., is moving forward with legal action against the proposed expansion of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, County Attorney Ray Schmitz said in an Associated Press news article.
He told county commissioners on Tuesday that the board has until Sept. 9 to file a brief detailing its concerns about the environmental impact statement that the federal Surface Transportation Board consulted before granting the Brookings, S.D.-based railroad the right to upgrade its tracks through Rochester.
Faegre and Benson, a Minneapolis law firm working for the county, is compiling the brief, which will include statements alleging that air-quality issues and the effects of coal dust from the trains were not taken into account when the board approved the project.
“The county’s position is, because of the environmental concerns, we do not want them to build that railroad in Olmsted County, and that has never changed,” Commissioner Jean Michaels said. “This is the most serious thing that has ever happened to this area. We should do whatever is necessary to stop this threat.”
The railroad is upgrading its system to carry coal from Wyoming across South Dakota and southern Minnesota, a project that has generated opposition and legal challenges in several communities.