Property Rights

In its campaign for a share of Powder River Basin coal shipments, DM&E has ignored the rights of ranch families in a modern land grab.

• In Wyoming, DM&E started filing lawsuits against about 30 landowners in Campbell, Converse, Niobrara, and Weston Counties, asking courts to order landowners to provide access to their property for surveying for its PRB expansion project. Now land condemnation proceedings have started.
• In South Dakota, DM&E applied for statewide eminent domain authority and directed the South Dakota Transportation Commission to send notice to 105 landowners.

What is Eminent Domain?
Eminent domain is the inherent power of the state to seize private property without the owner's consent. The property can be taken for government use or for “public use” by a delegated third party, such as a public utility or railroad. In exercising eminent domain, the state condemns private property to transfer title or an interest in the property, such as an easement, from the rightful owner. A condemnation action also determines the amount of “just compensation” paid to the rightful owner.

Does Railroad Want More Land?
DM&E says it intends to use eminent domain only to gain access to land for the PRB extension. However, its application for statewide authority in South Dakota could come back to haunt landowners along the existing main line. Additional clashes over property rights could follow when DM&E tries to acquire land for additional projects:

• Rail yards and sidings. Along the existing main line, DM&E will need to build more than 30 rail sidings, most of them at least 3.5 miles long, and it will need 535.8 acres of farmland in South Dakota and 372.5 acres of agricultural, residential and business property in Minnesota for rail yards, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
   
• Additional right-of-way. The original right-of-way has shrunk in many communities. In Brookings, Pierre and Fort Pierre, much of the right-of-way is only 50 feet wide. (Before DM&E acquired the line, declining rail traffic prompted the owner to sell parcels.) As part of the mainline project, DM&E might want to expand its right-of-way.
   
• A new line at Mankato, Minn. DM&E has two options for the route, and both will require land. Laying a separate set DM&E tracks on Union Pacific right-of-way through Mankato requires an estimated 43.5 acres of farmland and wetlands where DM&E connects to Union Pacific to the east and west of Mankato plus additional property – some owned by the city, some owned by private parties – to accommodate sidings and switching in Mankato. A 13.3-mile bypass around the southern edge of Mankato would cross 42 farms and probably displace eight homes and two businesses.

Condemn and Negotiate
“A railroad company says even though it is suing to condemn property for an expansion project, it’s still willing to negotiate with the landowners. A lawyer for the landowners called that offer ‘disingenuous.’ He’s being much too kind. This is like an armed mugger negotiating for his victim’s wallet. Suing should be a last resort, not one of the first actions a company takes when it’s trying to buy easements for a project.”

Casper Star-Tribune Editorial
July 11, 2007