St. Louis Park to dismiss appeal

updated: Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Southwest LRT project will include study of freight rail relocation
Jan. 4, 2012 - The St. Louis Park City Council voted Tuesday to direct the City Attorney to take the necessary steps to dismiss its appeal of the decision by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) not to require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in connection with the potential rerouting of freight rail traffic in St. Louis Park.

An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) relating to the potential rerouting of freight rail traffic from the Kenilworth Corridor in Minneapolis to the MN&S freight rail tracks in St. Louis Park. had been prepared by the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority (HCRRA), the project proposer, and submitted to MnDOT for its review in May 2011. MnDOT concluded that the environmental analysis done by HCRRA was sufficient and that a more in-depth EIS was not required.

The City appealed this decision to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, arguing that the freight rail relocation issue and the plan to construct a portion of the Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) project in the Kenilworth corridor were connected actions and, as such, should be studied together as part of an overall EIS, which should include the concept of co-locating light rail and freight rail in the Kenilworth Corridor instead of rerouting freight rail to the MN&S tracks in St. Louis Park.

In September of 2011, the Federal Transit Administration, the lead federal agency involved in the SWLRT project, determined that the environmental impacts of the proposed freight rail reroute should be included in the SWLRT project. As a result, HCRRA, working with the Metropolitan Council, is revising the SWLRT EIS to include the freight rail relocation issue. In addition, MnDOT has taken action to vacate both its ruling on the EAW and the EAW itself.

Given these actions, the City Council felt the original goals of the appeal had been met and that the appeal process was no longer necessary.

"The City of St. Louis Park looks forward to working with Hennepin County, the Metropolitan Council and MnDOT toward resolution of the many issues relating to the SWLRT project and freight rail," Mayor Jeff Jacobs said.

The Southwest LRT project is currently in its preliminary engineering phase. For more details, visit www.southwesttransitway.org