10 March 2008
Mayo Clinic Rethinks DM&E Opposition
Sioux Falls South Dakota USA - The Mayo Clinic is
conceding to the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's plans to reconstruct its line after about a decade of opposition to the
proposal that would bring coal trains through Rochester, where the clinic is.
The DM&E wants to reconstruct its line and haul coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin to power plants in the East and Midwest.
Members of the Rochester Coalition were adamant that any reincarnation of the Class II DM&E with its slow-moving
relatively infrequent trains into a robust, high-speed hauler of coal, agricultural products, and ethanol must bypass
Rochester. The coalition pursued the point in lawsuits, attempted to block federal financing for the DM&E, and supported landowners
in western South Dakota and Wyoming who were trying to kill the DM&E project rather than let new track cross their land.
But now the Mayo Clinic has asked the federal Surface Transportation Board to require the Canadian Pacific Railway and DM&E to
carry out a list of mitigating actions before the transportation board approves the first railroad's acquisition of the second.
These include overpasses or tunnels on major Rochester streets that cross the DM&E tracks, whistle-free crossings,
fencing, and sound-proofing where the tracks pass near pedestrian areas and the Mayo campus, speed limits on freight
trains, and a process for consulting with public officials about the movement of potentially hazardous freight.
Most notably, all the requests assume there will be significant rail traffic on the existing DM&E line, possibly including as many
as 43 mile-long coal trains daily.
"We fully expect the STB to approve the sale," Mayo Spokesman Chris Gade says. And the Class I Canadian Pacific probably has
access to financing for the Powder River Basin project the DM&E never could acquire.
"Given that every sign seems to indicate there will be a PRB expansion, we're taking steps necessary to ensure the safety of our
patients and community. That's the reason for the recommendations and mitigation for our community," Gade says.
One of Mayo's chief concerns is the safety of its patients in the event a railroad accident near the clinic buildings results in an
ethanol fire or anyhdrous ammonia spill. John Wade, president of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, points out the same concerns
exist for nearby downtown Rochester and the tens of thousands of people who work there.
Canadian Pacific declined comment pending the board's merger approval, according to CP spokesman Mike LoVecchio, but Rochester
Coalition leaders acknowledge there has been a sea of change in the coalition's approach to the railroad passing through the heart of
town.
"Quite frankly, with the DM&E, we got off on the wrong foot. From then on, everybody planted their feet in the sand. That made
it tough to negotiate," says Dennis Hanson, president of the Rochester City Council. "We want to make sure the new owners
know we want to be good neighbors.
"The biggest thing is we want to make sure everybody is familiar with the fact we have everything on the table. We're willing to
talk about everything."
Lisa Richardson says the new spirit of cooperation rises from the Rochester Coalition's recognition of the inevitable. "They can't
stop it now," she says of the project. Richardson is executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers. The organization has
ardently supported rail expansion as a means to create competition with the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad for grain hauling.
"The CP has purchased the DM&E. They will use their line. If Mayo is coming to the table now, what other choice do they
have?" Richardson asks.
Canadian Pacific leaders will meet with Rochester Coalition members sometime this spring, Gade says. "That will begin a broader
(dialogue) with our community. We will see where that takes us."
Wade says the coalition wants to convey that "we are in no way putting ourselves as better than any other community" affected
by the DM&E "and saying their concerns are not as great as ours. But what does make this community unique is its place of
national and international prominence as a medical center."
Relations between the railroad and Rochester have the potential to bloom brighter than the reluctant tolerance the DM&E and the
community were ever likely to achieve. The DM&E merely passed through Rochester. What if the CP were prepared to invest there?
"The biggest thing is the safety of the community. If they can bring jobs and economic development, what a great addition,"
Hanson says.
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