Surface Transportation Board 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) publishes the names of the persons selected to serve on its Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board (PRB).

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is accepting for consideration the primary application and related filings, filed on May 30, 2008, by Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Norfolk Southern), Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PARI) (a noncarrier railroad holding company), and two of PARI's rail carrier subsidiaries, Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) and Springfield Terminal Railway Company (Springfield Terminal) (collectively, Applicants). The primary application seeks Board approval under 49 U.S.C. 11322 and 11323 of (1) the acquisition by Norfolk Southern and B&M of joint control and ownership of Pan Am Southern, LLC (PAS), a new rail carrier to be formed; and (2) the agreements by which Springfield Terminal would operate the lines of PAS and establish rates for PAS. The agreements for which approval and authorization are being sought by the application and the related filings will be referred to collectively as the Transaction.

The Board is proposing to require all carriers that submit carload-waybill-sample information (Waybill Sample) under 49 CFR part 1244 to report fuel surcharge revenue in a separate waybill field created by the Board for that purpose, commencing with the Waybill Sample filed for January 2009. The Board will revise the waybill-file- record layout to reflect this change.

The Surface Transportation Board will hold a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 16, 2008, at its headquarters in Washington, DC. The purpose of the public hearing will be to examine issues related to the common carrier obligation of railroads with respect to the transportation of hazardous materials. Persons wishing to speak at the hearing should notify the Board in writing.

The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) issued the Final EIS in the above-captioned proceeding on May 30, 2008, and published a notice of availability of the Final EIS in the Federal Register on the same day. It has come to our attention that a statement on page 2 of the notice of availability is incorrect. Therefore, we will strike this language: Parties who wish to file an administrative appeal of the Board's final decision may do so in writing within 30 days from the publication of the notice of the FEIS. * * * [T]he deadline for filing administrative appeals will be July 7, 2008. And replace it with: Parties who wish to file an administrative appeal of the Board's final decision may do so in writing within 20 days of the service date of the Board's final decision. Please correct your copies accordingly.

On February 27, 2003, Southwest Gulf Railroad Company (SGR) filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502 for authority to construct and operate a rail line approximately seven miles long from a Vulcan Construction Materials, LP (VCM) proposed limestone quarry to a Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) rail line near Dunlay, Texas. SGR proposed construction and operation of the rail line to transport limestone aggregate from VCM's proposed quarry to the UP rail line. SGR anticipates operating approximately four trains per day (comprising two inbound empty and two outbound loaded trains). Each train would consist of 100 railcars. The Board's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) has prepared the FEIS was pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 4231 et seq. Under NEPA, the Board must consider the environmental impacts of actions requiring Board authorization and complete its environmental review before making a final decision on a proposed action. SEA is the office within the Board that carries out the Board's responsibilities and related environmental laws and regulations, including the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA at 40 CFR Part 1500; the Board's environmental regulations at 49 CFR Part 1105; and the Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) process.

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee (RETAC), pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C., App. 2).

On May 6, 2008, the Board served a decision announcing the 2006 revenue adequacy determinations for the Nation's Class I railroads. Three carriers, the BNSF Railway Company, the Norfolk Southern Railway Company and the Soo Line Railroad Company, are found to be revenue adequate.

The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) issued the Final Scope of Study in the above-captioned proceeding on April 25, 2008 and published the Final Scope of Study in the Federal Register on April 28, 2008. It has come to our attention that a statement on page 7 of the Final Scope is confusing and open to various interpretations. Therefore, we will strike this language:

The Board is instituting a proceeding to determine the railroad industry's cost of capital for 2007. The decision solicits comments on: (1) The railroads' 2007 current cost of debt capital; (2) the railroads' 2007 current cost of preferred stock equity capital (if any); (3) the railroads' 2007 cost of common stock equity capital; and (4) the 2007 capital structure mix of the railroad industry on a market value basis.