South Dakota legislators push to ease railroad land grab

Bill would change eminent domain law

By Dan Daly, Rapid City Journal

A legislative bill introduced Wednesday to amend South Dakota’s eminent domain law would stop unnecessary delays of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s expansion project, according to supporters.

“We all want fairness for the landowners, and believe that if the merits of the issue are ever allowed to be argued it will prove that DM&E has been fair,” said David McGirr, mayor of Huron. “But it’s time to get on with this project that so many of us have waited for so long to happen.”

But one DM&E opponent, Wasta area ranch owner Paul Jensen, said the proposed amendments “are profound changes that enable an imminent land grab.”

At the same time the bill was introduced, a group of 39 cities, business owners and agricultural groups issued a letter supporting the legislation and blasting delays in the eminent domain process.

Under current law, a railroad may condemn and acquire land only after the governor or the state transportation commission rule that the railroad’s use of eminent domain power would be for “a public use consistent with public necessity.”

DM&E has sought, without success, to win commission approval for its $6 billion plan to upgrade 600 miles of existing track on its main east-west line and build 260 miles of new track to reach the coal mines of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

Landowners who don’t want to give up land to the railroad have filed a number of motions. They say the state did not give them time to prepare for last summer’s hearing and had not written proper hearing rules beforehand. The hearing has been postponed, and the motions are still pending.

The new legislation, SB174, was introduced by Sen. Tom Hansen, R-Huron, and Rep. Tim Rave, R-Baltic.

(More here.)