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THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2002

The Surface Transportation Board of the Department of Transportation on Wednesday approved a $1.5 billion railroad expansion and reconstruction but imposed a number of stipulations.

The stipulations are intended to offset concerns raised by tribes and tribal members. The Oglala Lakota Tribe, for one, believes treaty rights and grave sites could be negatively impacted.

Environmentalists and ranchers have also raised issues. The Sierra Club plans on filing a lawsuit to stop the project.

The Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad company plans to lay down almost 300 miles of new track from the Black Hills in South Dakota to the Powder River Basin coal mines of Wyoming. DM&E also wants to replace 600 miles of existing track in South Dakota and Minnesota.

Get the Story:
$1.5 billion DM&E plan wins federal go-ahead (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 1/31)
Rail plan may boost competition (The Billings Gazette 1/31)
Gov't OKs $1.4B Rail Line for Coal (AP 1/30)

Get Decision Documents:
DAKOTA, MINNESOTA & EASTERN RAILROAD CORPORATION CONSTRUCTION INTO THE POWDER RIVER BASIN (Docket No. FD 33407 0)

Relevant Links:
Surface Transportation Board - http://www.stb.dot.gov
DM&E - http://www.dmerail.com

Related Stories:
Editorial: Black Hills rail promising (12/17)
Black Hills rail opponents rally (12/10)
Support mixed on Black Hills railroad (11/27)
Black Hills rail gets approval (11/20)
Court battle seen over Black Hills rail (11/1)
Report due on Black Hills railroad (10/15)
Interior opposes railroad expansion (4/2)