(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 2.)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The largest new railroad construction venture in more than 100 years cleared a regulatory hurdle Friday when a federal agency reaffirmed its approval for the Dakota Minnesota and Eastern Railroad’s coal train project.
The Surface Transportation Board released its final supplemental environmental impact statement, requiring that the DM&E perform community liaison work to help affected towns establish quiet zones if those communities want them.
Construction won’t start yet, though, as federal law requires the agency to wait at least 30 days after the environmental report to issue a final decision.
“We got the best decision that was possible,” said Kevin Schieffer, the railroad’s chief executive officer.
Schieffer said the railroad has agreements with 54 of the 56 communities.
Both communities have fought unsuccessfully to force the DM&E to build new bypasses around those communities rather than use the existing rail right of way through town.
“The long and short of it is that it requires me to tell our liaison to add two more communities to the list,” he said.
Plans include rebuilding the DM&E’s 600 miles of track through South Dakota and Minnesota; upgrading about 250 miles on its sister line, the Iowa Chicago & Eastern Railroad; upgrading 150 miles of track from Wall to Colony, Wyo.; and building 280 miles of new line into Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coal fields.
The Sioux Falls-based railroad says it could haul 100 million tons of coal a year from Wyoming to eastern power plants.
In Rochester, Minn., the city, Olmsted County and the Mayo Clinic have opposed any DM&E plan that does not include a bypass.
Olmsted County Attorney Raymond Schmitz said foes of the expansion are still looking at the environmental report released Friday.
But he questioned whether a third coal carrier in Wyoming would work considering there appears to be no major push to build new coal-fired power plants.
Donley Darnell, of Mid States Coalition for Progress, said because of mines’ contracts with existing coal haulers, the DM&E could only bid on about 20 percent of the coal coming out of Wyoming.
“That doesn’t even cover the cost of their loan,” said Darnell, of Newcastle, Wyo.
The railroad applied to the STB for permission to build in 1998, and DM&E’s plan has been scrutinized for its impact on the environment, cultural sites and quality of life of communities along the proposed route.
The STB approved the construction in January 2002, but the Mid States Coalition for Progress challenged that ruling in federal court and forced the board to do additional environmental analysis.
Schieffer said he thinks the lengthy regulatory process is finally drawing to a close.
In November, Schieffer and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., announced that DM&E would apply for a $2.5 billion federal loan for the project in 2006. The loan would come from a little-used program that Thune had amended to be tailored to the DM&E’s needs.
The project will take three years to complete, but Schieffer said if the STB’s final decision comes soon, construction could start in 2006.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to get a full construction season in (this year), but it’s possible to get in $100 million or so,” he said.
The South Dakota Corn Growers Association is pleased with the report, said Lisa Richardson, the group’s executive director.
“This year, 215 million bushels of corn will be leaving the state,” Richardson said. “We are a landlocked state with one (Class 1) railroad. Competition is what we’re looking for.”