Surface Transportation Board 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board is publishing the Regulatory Flexibility Agenda for spring 2022.

The Surface Transportation Board adopts a final rule to codify a longstanding voluntary practice whereby Class I carriers, through the Association of American Railroads (AAR), have annually reported tare weight and loss and damage data for use in the Board's Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS). Under the final rule, Class I carriers may choose to provide tare weight and loss and damage data through AAR or to file the data with the Board individually.

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee (RETAC), pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

On October 29, 2021, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and their U.S. rail carrier subsidiaries Soo Line Railroad Company; Central Maine & Quebec Railway U.S. Inc.; Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation; and Delaware & Hudson Railway Company, Inc. (collectively, CP) and Kansas City Southern, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company, Gateway Eastern Railway Company, and The Texas Mexican Railway Company (collectively, KCS) filed an application with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) seeking the Board's approval of the acquisition of control by CP of KCS (Proposed Acquisition). The Proposed Acquisition has the potential to result in significant environmental impacts; therefore, the Board's Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) has determined that the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is appropriate to meet the Board's obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related laws, including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The purpose of this Notice is to inform stakeholdersincluding members of the public; elected officials; tribes; federal, state, and local agencies; and organizationsinterested in or potentially affected by potential environmental and cultural impacts related to the Proposed Acquisition that the Final Scope of Study for the EIS is available.

In a decision served on February 3, 2022, the Board proposed to adopt 1.025 (2.5% per year) as the measure of average (geometric mean) change in railroad productivity for the 2016-2020 (five-year) period. The Board's February 3, 2022 decision stated that comments may be filed addressing any perceived data and computational errors in the Board's calculation. The decision also stated that, unless a further order is issued postponing the effective date, the decision will take effect on March 1, 2022.

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public hearing in this docket, consisting of two phases. The first phase, which will involve comments from the public, will commence on February 15, 2022, and will continue on February 16, 2022, if necessary. The second phase will be an evidentiary hearing commencing on March 9, 2022, and will be limited to the four parties to this casethe National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR), and the Alabama State Port Authority and its rail carrier division, the Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks (collectively, the Port; and with Amtrak, CSXT, and NSR, the ``Parties''). Immediately following the first phase, the Board will hold a conference with the Parties on February 16, 2022, to discuss issues related to the second phase.

The Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board is publishing the Regulatory Flexibility Agenda for fall 2021.

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is issuing a final rule to implement the annual inflationary adjustment to its civil monetary penalties, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.

The Board grants, in part, a motion for an extension of time to file comments in Docket No. EP 765, extending the deadline for reply comments until April 15, 2021. The Board also will extend the deadline for reply comments in Docket Nos. EP 755 and EP 665 (Sub-No. 2) until April 15, 2022.