WASECA, Minn. -
A plan to ship coal from Wyoming through Minnesota is all but defeated today, after Canadian Pacific railroad says they want out of a 660-mile portion of track west of Tracy.
Since the nineties, opponents have waged a flurry of court and political battles to stop coal from being transported from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming to Winona, where it would supply power plants throughout the Midwest via the Mississippi River.
Now, a combination of opposition from environmentalists, competing rail companies and even the Mayo Clinic, along with a failed federal loan application and the rise of natural gas appears to have idled the plan for good.
Canadian Pacific spokesman Ed Greenberg says, "The long-term outlook for domestic thermal coal, ... is expected, we're told, to stay weak over the next several years. Lower natural gas prices from an over supply resulting in decreased coal production was also a factor."
Canadian Pacific is focusing on the supply and demand aspect of their decision, but it's hard to overlook the years of court battles over eminent domain and intense lobbying efforts surrounding a $2.3 billion loan application to upgrade the existing line.
If approved, the coal project would have added as many as 40 trains a day to Waseca's corridor, which unlike the heated debate in Mankato and full opposition from Rochester, favored the project.
Waseca mayor Roy Srp, who is also an employee with Canadian Pacific, says, "We never came up against any opposition. There were a couple communities from other areas that came to visit us to express their opposition, but nonetheless the city of Waseca remained supportive."
But those against the project have apparently won out, so now it'll just be business as usual on the old DM&E.
