(AP) Gillette, Wyoming
I found this piece in the web site of WCCO of Minneapolis/St Paul.
A judge has ordered landowners to provide access for the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad to survey their property for a planned rail line.
“These matters were written in stone before the doors to the courtroom opened in this case,” District Court Judge Michael “Nick” Deegan said in a ruling Tuesday.
The railroad sued Lenard Seeley and Jerry Dilts for permission to survey land they own in Campbell, Converse and Weston Counties. The surveys are in preperation for a proposed $6 billion rail line for exporting coal from the Powder River Basin.
The project suffered a setback last month when the Federal Railroad Administration turned down the railroad’s request for a $2.3 billion loan, although company President Kevin Schieffer has said he would pursue other financing.
The surveys could be a step toward the railroad using eminent domain to obtain the land.
The landowners said they didn’t want do deal with the railroad until they could be more certain that the project would go ahead. But Rachel Yates, a lawyer for the DM&E, said the court needed to focus on whether the surveys were required and whether the railroad made reasonable attempts to negotiate with the landowners.
There was little disagreement about whether the surveys are required. But Tad Daly, the landowners’ lawyer, said the railroad was lax in negotiating. He said the railroad never provided full details about all the surverys it wanted to do.
“We would say, “sign our agreement or else” is not reasonable.” he said.
Yates said that once a landowner refused one o