Environmental Protection

The proposed PRB extension and mainline projects threaten to inflict profound damage to the environment. The Sierra Club says the project would result in “bisecting vast prairie lands, disturbing riparian areas, increasing erosion, destroying habitat and polluting the air.” The damage can be divided into two categories:

Rail Construction. In the short term, three years of rail construction would leave a swath of destruction through natural areas that have taken an eternity to create. DM&E plans to move 100 million cubic yards of earth for the PRB extension and 23 million cubic yards for the mainline project, including a Mankato bypass. Besides gouging a 29,000-acre permanent scar in the Earth’s surface, these projects would damage or destroy water resources, wildlife habitats, recreation areas, and scenery. The PRB project would jeopardize the fragile ecology of the Cheyenne River Valley and a number of threatened or endangered species. 

Pollution. In the long term, DM&E’s rail projects represent a major source of pollution by supporting and sustaining coal-fired energy, the would promote additional coal mining – up to 125 million tons a year – and continued use of coal-fired energy production. The consequences include increased air pollution, acid rain and global warming from increased carbon dioxide emissions as well as mercury, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter pollution.