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Sixty Minnesota and South Dakota cities, farm groups, economic development agencies and other organizations recently filed a petition with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Minnesota District seeking to intervene in a Mayo Clinic/city of Rochester lawsuit opposing the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp.’s (DM&E) Powder River Basin project.

The petitioners include the Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Grain and Feed Association, and cities of Springfield, New Ulm, Lewiston, Tracy, Stockton and Sanborn, Minn.

Rochester is the only city out of 56 communities affected by the proposed coal-hauling line that opposes the project. The DM&E plans to build a 262.3-mile line through western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, and upgrade another 600 track miles in South Dakota and Minnesota to access the basin.

“These groups see the overwhelming benefits for the region in terms of jobs, better ag prices, economic development and fundamental infrastructure improvements,” said DM&E President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Schieffer in a prepared statement.