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MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2001

A proposed railroad expansion through the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota breaks treaties signed by the Lakota Nation, an Oglala Sioux tribal administrator says.

Opponents of the expansion will be "breaking new ground" by utilizing treaty rights to bolster their case, Harvey White Woman told The Sioux Falls Argus Leader. He said an environmental impact statement on the proposed rail doesn't address fully two Lakota Nation's treaties.

Tribal opponents have joined forces with environmentalists, ranchers and others to oppose the project by the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.

The Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Board last month issued a final EIS giving a favorable approval to the project. The project involves laying down almost 300 miles of new track from the Black Hills in South Dakota to the Powder River Basin coal mines of Wyoming.

It would also replace 600 miles of existing track in South Dakota and Minnesota.

Get the Story:
DM&E foes joining forces (The Sioux Falls Falls Argus Leader 12/10)

More on the Expansion:
PUBLIC NOTICE: Release of Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Public Meetings and Public Comment Period Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s (DM&E) Proposed Powder River Basin Expansion Project

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

Related Stories:
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)