Shag road residents wary of DM&E plans

Proposed staging yard would change quiet, rural residential area

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Ron Janni loves his quiet, serene neighborhood along Shag Road, southeast of New Ulm. He has lived there for 20 years, nestled between Highway 15 and the Minnesota River.

"It's farmland, all agriculture land," Janni said, as he drives along the flat basin.

However, Janni fears his tranquil neighborhood is in for a jolting change. Trains may be running past his house throughout the day and night, and diesel engines may be left running for hours across the street from his home.

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad is planning to build a staging yard in the Shag Road area. A staging yard, with several tracks laying side by side, allows a railroad company to separate train cars from existing trains and form new links. The yard would be 2 1/2 miles long and about 500 feet in width.

DM&E is waiting for approval from the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency which is overseeing the proposed renovation and expansion of the line, which stretches from Winona to Wall, S.D.

The rail company is planning to sink $1.4 billion into its line, improving 600 miles of existing track while adding 275 miles of new track into Wyoming. The line would then carry coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin east, where it would be burned in energy plants. The proposed expansion would increase train traffic in New Ulm from 10-12 trains a day to 35-38 daily, with speeds climbing from 20 mph to 40-49 mph.

For Janni, the proposed rail yard would be just across the street from his house. Workers would be re-connecting trains throughout the day.

"The noise, the 24 hours of noise," Janni said. "At first I thought I could live with it. Then I e-mailed DM&E. They said it would run 24 hours a day."

There are 20 houses within 500 feet of the track, Janni said, pointing out several homes that will be destroyed to make may for the new yard. He drives past a small wooded area that would be removed.

"All these trees in here would be gone," Janni said with a touch of sadness in his voice. "A lot of people don't realize the magnitude of it."

Faster trains make Janni worry about safety for youth. He notes that a nearby neighbor has two children under age six.

"There are just as many young families down here as there are older people."

From the deck behind Janni's house, a person can see the curving Minnesota River, which will only be 300 feet from the rail yard. He worries that spilled fuel at the rail yard could get into the river.

Janni notes that in past years, floods have crept up to his back yard. Also the northwest end of Shag Road has closed twice in the 1990s because of flooding. However, under the DM&E plan, 110th Street on the east end of Shag Road would close, leaving no way out of the area if the northwest street is under water.

Janni first heard rumors that a staging yard could be built along Shag Road last April, six months before the company officially announced the plan. Janni has now become a vocal leader, attending STB hearings, making copies of an environmental report and communicating with his neighbors.

"I've heard from 90 percent of the neighbors down here, asking for information or trying to find out what is happening," he said.

Earlier this month, the STB moved back the deadline for comments to be submitted to the agency. People can now voice their opinions ­ both positive and negative -- to the federal group through March 5.

Jim Scheman also lives on Shag Road, further east than Janni. While Janni's chief concern is the round-the-clock noise, Scheman is focusing on environmental impact.

"I'm concerned about natural resources and how close it is to the river," Scheman said. "I'm worried about the effect it will have on town. When it comes with such high prices compared to what it does to the environment, it concerns me."

Scheman wonders how fast trains will actually move through town. The improved tracks could allow for trains measuring more than one mile in length. If a train is at a complete stop at Shag Road -- less than two miles southeast of Hy-Vee -- he wonders how fast will it go when it passes 20th Street South, and how long that main artery into town will be blocked to through traffic.

Last week, the city of Mankato sent a letter to the STB, stating an official city position about the upgraded rail. Scheman wonders why the New Ulm City Council has not made an official statement about the rail upgrades.

"If the city of New Ulm doesn't voice its opinion, how can our little voices be heard?" Scheman asks with an exasperated tone.

City Manager Dick Salvati said he has not written a city position because the council has not told him to create one. Council President Dan Beranek said he is mulling over whether an official position will be written.

"Personally, I don't think the 300 jobs are worth it," Beranek said. "I don't know how bad it will be out there. I fear that we will hear that clanging and changing of cars in town."

Rick Daugherty, Public Affairs officer for DM&E, explained that the outdoor yard could bring up to 300 ongoing, permanent jobs to the area once the coal trains meet their capacity of 100 million tons a year.

If the STB approves the upgrades this year, work on the line would take place through 2003, Daugherty said. The rail company believes it will reach full capacity for coal movement by 2010. Until then, the rail yard would create 100-200 fulltime jobs.

Daugherty said two other rail companies, Burlington Northern and Union Pacific, already ship coal from Wyoming. The Wyoming Mining Association believes there is enough coal in the Powder River Basin to last several hundred years, according to its Web site.

The improved rail line also will open new markets for Minnesota grain, rail proponents say.

Janni and Scheman are still pondering their futures if the stage yard opens and it is as bad -- or worse -- than they think.

"I don't want to give up living in this area," Janni said wistfully. "I don't think I'll sell my house. I think it would be pretty hard to sell a home down here now."

But, Scheman and his wife agree that they would look elsewhere.

"We've discussed it," Scheman said. "I'd say we'd probably be looking to move."