Surface Transportation Board – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board revokes the class exemption as it pertains to the trackage rights described in Docket No. FD 35466 \1\ to permit the trackage rights to expire at midnight on December 10, 2011, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, subject to the employee protective conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line RailroadAbandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979).

The Clean Railroads Act of 2008 amended the law to restrict the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board (Board or STB) over solid waste rail transfer facilities. The Clean Railroads Act also added three new statutory provisions that address the Board's regulation of such facilities, which is now limited to issuance of ``land-use-exemption permits'' in certain circumstances. Upon receiving a land-use-exemption permit issued by the Board, a solid waste rail transfer facility need not comply with State laws, regulations, orders, and other requirements affecting the siting of the facility, except to the extent that the Board requires compliance with any of those requirements. The Clean Railroads Act provides that a solid waste rail transfer facility must comply with all applicable Federal and State requirements respecting the prevention and abatement of pollution, the protection and restoration of the environment, and the protection of public health and safety, in the same manner as any similar solid waste management facility not owned or operated by or on behalf of a rail carrier, except for laws affecting the siting of the facility that are covered by the land-use-exemption permit. As required by the Clean Railroads Act, on January 14, 2009, the Board issued interim rules that were published in the Federal Register on January 27, 2009 (2009 interim rules). Based on the comments received and further evaluation, the Board now modifies the review process for land-use-exemption permits under the Clean Railroads Act and modifies other aspects of the 2009 interim rules, in the interest of clarity and efficiency. The Board requests comments on the modifications contained in the interim rules.

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).

The Board is instituting a proceeding to determine the railroad industry's cost of capital for 2010. The decision solicits comments on the following issues: (1) The railroads' 2010 current cost of debt capital; (2) the railroads' 2010 current cost of preferred equity capital (if any); (3) the railroads' 2010 cost of common equity capital; and (4) the 2010 capital structure mix of the railroad industry on a market value basis. Comments should focus on the various cost of capital components listed above using the same methodology followed in Railroad Cost of Capital2009, EP 558 (Sub-No. 13) (STB served Oct. 29, 2010).

The Board proposes to amend the regulations governing user fees for services. The proposed amendment would set the fee for certain formal complaints at $350.

In a decision served on February 10, 2011, the Board granted a petition by the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) to institute a rulemaking proceeding to explore whether the Board should require Class I railroads to report separately how much each railroad is spending on the development, installation, and maintenance of Positive Train Control, a federally mandated safety system that will automatically stop or slow a train before an accident can occur. Several parties filed comments in reply to UP's petition. The Board will address the arguments and issues raised in those filings in a subsequent decision. The Board's decision makes no determination on the merits of UP's specific proposal.