FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2003

CONTACT:
Jim Dougherty (202) 607-7093
Eric Antebi  (415) 977-5747


         U.S. APPEALS COURT REJECTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION COAL TRAIN
Bush Administration Ignored Clean Air, Global Warming Impacts of Shipping,
                Burning 100 Million Tons of Coal in Midwest

St. Paul, MN -  A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals yesterday rejected a proposal supported by the Bush Administration
to ship massive amounts of coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin across
South Dakota and Minnesota.  The panel ruled that the proposal, which has
roots in Vice President Cheney's secretive Energy Task Force, failed to
consider the air pollution impacts of burning an additional 100 million
tons coal annually at a new wave of power plants in the Midwest.

"This was a choice between clean air and the coal lobby, and the courts
chose clean air, not to mention the rule of law," said Jim Dougherty, an
attorney representing the Sierra Club South Dakota Chapter, one of groups
to challenge the proposal.  "We have to count on the courts because the
Bush administration is too close to the coal industry to look out for the
health and safety of ordinary people."

The  Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad sought to extend its
system to the Powder River Basin coal fields in Wyoming and run coal
eastward on trains across South Dakota and Minnesota to supply as many as
50 new power plants in the region. The project would increase the use of
coal in the United States by approximately 10% of the current total,
according to federal regulators.

The federal Surface Transportation Board, recently approved the rail
expansion without considering the health and safety costs of burning coal
on the other end.   The Sierra Club, Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient
Economy, the Mayo Clinic, and the Mid States Coalition challenged that
approach under the National Environmental Policy Act, arguing that the
coal-burning power plants, and the toxic air pollution and greenhouse
gases
they would generate, would be a direct consequence of the rail project.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concurred, stating, "We believe that
it would be irresponsible for the Board to approve a project of this scope
without first examining the effects that may occur as a result of the
reasonably foreseeable increase in coal consumption."  The court also
stated that the Board's arguments for not addressing such environmental
effects were, "at best, illogical."

The Bush Administration has been a major ally of the coal lobby despite
the
fact that coal is a major source of toxic air pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions.  To support a new wave of power plants, the Cheney Energy Task
Force specifically recommended tapping coal reserves in Wyoming's Powder
River Basin and developing a rail system to ship those reserves to the
Midwest.  The Sierra Club and Judicial Watch are suing to obtain the
records from secret meetings the Vice President held with the coal
industry, utility companies, and other corporate energy interests.

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