BILLINGS, Mont. — A Native American-owned coal company has sued BNSF Railway for breach of contract, claiming the railroad’s preferential treatment of other mines cost it more than $150 million in revenue and $15 million in demurrage penalties in 2022.
In a suit filed Monday in federal district court in Montana, Navajo Transitional Energy Co., or NTEC, says it had a contract with BNSF to move up to 5.5 million tons of coal from its Spring Creek Mine in Montana to the Westshore Terminals in Delta, British Columbia, for export to Japan and Korea. As of the end of November, however, BNSF had moved just 2.99 million tons, even though NTEC had already sold 4.6 million tons.
NTEC alleges performance of its trains fell while BNSF’s service generally improved on the route to the terminal in Delta, and that BNSF reduced the percentage of trains available to NTEC while increasing service to its competitors. Those competitors were able to sell coal to NTEC customers on the spot market, the suit says.
“BNSF is, simply put, abusing its monopoly power and picking winners and losers. And it’s not only at the expense of our business and our customers, but at the expense of the Navajo Nation,” Matt Babcock, NTEC’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in a press release.
NTEC, created by the Navajo Nation, provides the Navajo with direct economic support of approximately $50 million per year, the company says, or more than 30% of its general fund on an annual basis. The company says BNSF’s service issues negatively affected its ability to deliver on contracts, meet revenue proejcts and provide that annual support.
A railroad spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press.
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