By Dave Gambrel
Like The Little Engine That Could, the Tongue River Railroad Project (TRRC) in southeastern Montana never seems to give up, no matter who is running the project. Those now comprising The Little Engine’s train are a motley crew: BNSF, a major railroad; Arch Coal, a major coal producer; and billionaire candy magnate, Forrest Mars Jr., each owning a one–third share. It’s hard to imagine a coal producer agreeing with a major railroad on very much, but in this case they share a common interest and a common opponent. This opponent, Northern Plains Resources Council (NPRC), will test them greatly. Surface Transportation Board (STB) files show the earliest application on file as January 6, 1984, and literally hundreds of filings in the years since. NPRC has filed 65 times since 1997, including six times this year.
Two interesting but totally unrelated events happened in 1986. IBM introduced the 5140 “Convertible,” listed at $1,995 with a grand total of 256,000 of RAM. In that same year, the STB’s predecessor agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, (ICC) gave approval to TRRC’s predecessor to build and operate an 89-mile rail line between Miles City, Mont., and two termini located near Ashland, Mont., a proceeding known as Tongue River I. The purpose of the line was to serve proposed new coal mines in the Ashland area. In 1996, the board authorized TRRC to build a contiguous 41-mile rail line from Ashland to Decker, Mont., in Tongue River II. In 2007, the board authorized TRRC to build and operate the Western Alignment, a 17.3-mile alternate route for a portion of the route already approved in Tongue River II in a proceeding known as Tongue River III. The ICC/Board’s environmental staff, Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA), prepared environmental impact statements (EIS) in all three proceedings. Thankfully, the laptop computer was not under constant opposition as was the Tongue River Railroad. The computer advanced, the railroad did not.
The Tongue River Railroad project has been bashed relentlessly by environmentalists and ranchers over the past 27 years. Despite frequent press releases of imminent construction, no physical work has ever been done. The purpose of the proposed line is to transport low sulfur subbituminous coal from Arch’s planned coal mine currently in the permitting process at Otter Creek, a coal reserve lying due east of Ashland. Ranchers now say they fear the effect of the proposed railroad on water quality in their Tongue River Valley properties. Considering the herds of cattle already fouling Rosebud County creeks and ponds with urine, excrement and occasional corpses, coal train pollution seems insignificant.
Current TRRC Activities
Tongue River Railroad Co. Inc. (TRRC) now seeks a board license under 49 U.S.C. § 10901 to construct and operate a rail line in southeast Montana. TRRC filed a revised application for its construction authority on October 16, 2012, but modified the project in a December 17, 2012, supplemental application that supersedes the October 16 revised application. As discussed in the supplemental application, TRRC has changed its preferred alignment to the 42-mile Colstrip Alignment, that runs between Colstrip, Mont., and Ashland/Otter Creek, Mont., which would connect to the north with an existing BNSF Railway Co. line known as the Colstrip Subdivision. This routing seems to make more sense than previous routings because it is much shorter, and it makes use of existing BNSF coal haulage tracks.
The Colstrip alternative does make lots of sense, and it seems the proposers have been very thoughtful in minimizing impact to ranches along the way. Still, proposed construction of the Tongue River Railroad is a divisive issue between energy developers, landowners and inhabitants, and is sure to spark spirited debate anywhere in southeastern Montana. One can understand the deep feelings of a rancher that has inherited a large ranch built by generations of his ancestors, and no one would belittle that concern. The Colstrip alternative routing cuts across the Rocker Six Ranch in several locations, so one can understand the concern of the McCrae family who owns it. However, the facts are not as dire as they may seem.
A review of the Map Book that accompanies the Tongue River EIS (www.tongue-rivereis.com) reveals some interesting facts about the Colstrip alternative routing. From the time this routing leaves the existing BNSF Colstrip line until it reaches its terminus, it runs practically parallel to existing roads, and rarely more than a few hundred feet away from them. It does not appear that the proposed routing divides ranches any more than they were already divided by existing roads. While it would seem opponents would express relief or even gratitude for this very thoughtful alternative, they instead petitioned the STB to revoke TRRC’s supplemental application.
Plaintiffs NPRC and Rocker Six Cattle Co. filed a Petition to Revoke Supplemental Application on January 7. The STB wasted no time in rejecting their petition, deciding on February 25,
“We further find that the arguments directed to the substance of TRRC’s proposal go to the merits of whether the supplemental application meets the criteria of § 10901 and, therefore, are more appropriately addressed during the commenting process on the transportation merits. To the extent the arguments are environmental, they should be raised as part of the board’s environmental review. For these reasons, we will deny the petitioners’ requests and proceed with the development of the record in this case.”
Perhaps the rejection was because plaintiffs had accused TRRC of a non-crime: “perpetrating a farce.” Perhaps it was because the plaintiffs were claiming the right to judge not only where the proposed Otter Creek coal might be sold, but were imposing upon STB the duty to manage coal marketing all the way to China. Seriously, has NPRC finally reached the end of their tether with STB? Who can say for sure? All we know is that it did not take the STB long to scan their 78-page petition and decide against them.
The Pro-Railroad Point-of-View
Using persistent media saturation as well as an endless stream of STB filings, environmentalists and ranchers have worked to create the impression that all Montanans are opposed to the Tongue River Railroad and the Otter Creek mine. This is simply not true. In April, the Billings, Mont., Chamber of Commerce wrote to the STB,
“The state of Montana has some of the most significant reserves of low sulfur, subbituminous coal in the United States. The Colstrip Alignment would provide rail service to a planned coal mine in the Otter Creek area of Montana that is in the process of permitting and any future coal mines in the Otter Creek and Ashland, Mont., areas. Such rail service is the only viable transportation alternative for bringing Otter Creek and Ashland area coal to market.
Figure 2: “Either of two proposed routes for the Tongue River Railroad would split the Rocker Six Cattle Co. near Colstrip, impeding the McRae family’s ability to move cattle from summer to winter pastures.”—Billings Gazette. If you are not one of those few Montana ranchers trying to guard inherited mega-ranches, you may wonder how anyone can own so much acreage they would have both a “summer pasture” and a “winter pasture,” and you may sympathize with the views expressed by the Billings Chamber of Commerce. If you are one of those Midwestern families whose farms were chopped up by interstate highways, you may also find it difficult to understand the ranchers’ perpetual kingdom point-of-view.
“A key to energy development in Montana is the ability to move natural resources from area of development to the ultimate market. For the past 30 years, the Tongue River Railroad project has been studied, dissected and discussed, and roadblocks have been thrown in front of the progress at every step of the way. Responsible energy exploration and development on public and private lands is crucial to resolving our nation’s energy crisis and building Montana’s economy. “We recognize the significance of coal production to the state economy and financial assistance it affords local communities throughout Montana. The responsible and timely development of new coal mines will provide a much needed economic boost to Montana. We therefore support efforts that will enable new coal production to occur, including the development of railroad infrastructure and securing access to federal and state-owned coal reserves.
“The economic impact to eastern Montana in general and the Billings area specifically is enormous and we need to facilitate, not hinder this process. A June 2012 University of Montana study of the potential of Otter Creek, shows the economic impact to Montana would be $200 million yearly. The mine would generate $92 million in state and local taxes, create hundreds of jobs locally and across the state, and increase the state’s population by nearly 3,000 people.”
Are There Important Issues that Never Make the Media?
Years ago an old rancher complained in a Gillette, Wyo., public hearing that the coming coal mines would make it impossible for him to find good “hands” at wages he could afford. That concern still exists today in ranch country. However, while NPRC has made dozens of anti-TRRC filings since its founding in 1972, it is doubtful the main issue has been stated as manpower or wages. The reason is simple: neither STB nor predecessor agency ICC would consider wage wars part of their responsibility. Other, more popular issues had to be chosen to prevent the coal mines and railroads that would drastically reduce the ranchers’ labor pool and force them to pay higher wages.
Figure 3: Caribou and Trans-Alaska Pipeline. For many years, environmentalists raged against building the Trans-Alaska pipeline, claiming among other things that the pipeline would disrupt the natural migration of caribou herds. As this photo shows, it did not take rocket science to solve that problem.
Assuming the labor pool for Colstrip area ranches is primarily the area encompassed by Miles City, Forsythe, Ashland, Lame Deer and Colstrip itself, the total number of men in the labor pool (18 to 44) is in the order of 2,500 men. This does not mean that all of them are able-bodied, or capable of sitting in a saddle in freezing temperatures for hours at a time, or capable of repairing fences, fixing broken-down four-wheelers, setting irrigation pipe, branding cattle, cutting alfalfa, or any one of dozens of other duties expected of a ranch hand 24/7. Furthermore, it does not mean they are all sitting at home waiting for a low-paying ranch job to open up somewhere. Every time a new mine opens in the region, all the able-bodied men try to get hired, and many of the best do get hired. Similarly, they try to get hired by the railroad. Both employers are anathema to the ranchers because they diminish the pool of men suitable for ranch-hand work.
Admittedly, ranchers’ hiring problems become very serious when a new coal mine opens nearby. Given the chance to drive 80 miles for a ranch-hand job paying $31,000 per year, or 120 miles for a coal mining job paying $81,000 per year, would a Miles City man go for the Colstrip-area ranch hand job or the Ashland-area coal mining job? If we throw in benefits, that makes it more difficult for the rancher to compete. We see the problem: Tongue River Railroad plus any new coal mine represents a serious manpower drain, a serious challenge to ranch income.
Some observations are in order at this point. Cattle crossings or farm crossings of railroads and highways have existed for more than 50 years. Midwestern farmers with much less acreage than Rocker Six Ranch have dealt with highways for decades, as they have seen their ranches and farms carved up by interstate highways and railroads. It is not rocket science to build underpasses or overpasses for unlimited cattle crossing access, and certainly not unreasonable to request of a railroad wishing to cross one’s land.
Gambrel was director of transportation for Peabody Coal when the Interstate Commerce Commission gave its first approval to build the Tongue River Railroad. He currently writes for mining magazines and does consulting work in coal transportation. Contact: bunkgambrel@earthlink.net.
