(The Associated Press circulated the following article on November 18.)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Siding with the state of Wyoming and the owners of a Saratoga sawmill, the federal Surface Transportation Board has denied a request to abandon a railway spur in Carbon County.
The Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Co. had filed a request with the Surface Transportation Board in Washington, D.C. to abandon the 24-mile line, which long provided the main means of transporting lumber produced at the Saratoga sawmill. Louisiana-Pacific Corp. closed the sawmill, which employed almost 200 Saratoga residents, in January 2003.
The mill’s new owners, Intermountain Resources Inc., say they intend to reopen it but can only do so with a working railway. The state protested the abandonment petition.
“It would be an understatement to say the closure of that sawmill dealt a huge blow to Saratoga’s economy,” Gov. Dave Freudenthal said Tuesday. “Now there is a chance it could be reopened, and that is why the Surface Transportation Board’s agreement that the railway should not be abandoned is such good news.”
Among the arguments in the state’s protest was that the sawmill employed a significant portion of the workforce in Saratoga and Carbon County and was a major player in the area’s economic development.
The Surface Transportation Board’s decision does not prohibit the railroad owners from attempting to abandon the line through a more formal and drawn-out administrative process. However, Wyoming officials hope that the board’s recognition of the importance of the Carbon County rail line will result in a degree of cooperation between the railroad and Intermountain Resources that will allow the Saratoga mill to reopen as soon as possible.