National Academies Press: OpenBook

Railroad Legal Issues and Resources (2015)

Chapter: XXXIX. Surface Transportation Board

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Suggested Citation:"XXXIX. Surface Transportation Board." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Railroad Legal Issues and Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22093.
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Suggested Citation:"XXXIX. Surface Transportation Board." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Railroad Legal Issues and Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22093.
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Suggested Citation:"XXXIX. Surface Transportation Board." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Railroad Legal Issues and Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22093.
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Suggested Citation:"XXXIX. Surface Transportation Board." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Railroad Legal Issues and Resources. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22093.
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156 has received notice from a landowner that the landowner has finished a portion of a fence.748 When a railroad fails to comply with the two aforementioned statutes, the railroad will be liable for the cost of the landowner’s materials that are needed to construct a fence and any resulting damages for neglect or refusal to do so.749 6. Wisconsin 795 In Wisconsin, the boards of villages are authorized to request railroad companies to apply oil or water to their roadbeds to control dust.750 Railroads are required to build and maintain fences and cattle guards as well as farm crossings.751 Wisconsin requires railroad companies to provide certain safety information within 48 hours of applying pesticide to a right-of-way. C. Railroad and Related Statutes in the 10 Largest or Most 796 Populous States This section provides the name of and a citation to state railroad and related statutes in the 10 most populous states, including some states whose laws were summarized in the preceding subpart. XXXIX. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 802 A. Introduction 802 The STB 752 is the successor to the ICC.753 Sections B through D summarize the Board’s regulatory and adjudicatory powers and discuss its jurisdiction over the construction, acquisition, operation, abandonment, or discontinuance of railroad lines; its jurisdiction over rates and classifications; its authority to prescribe rules and practices; and some of the Board’s recent decisions. Sections E and F discuss judicial review of STB orders. 748 S.D. CODIFIED LAWS § 49-16A-92 (2014). 749 S.D. CODIFIED LAWS § 49-16A-93 (2014). 750 WIS. STAT. § 61.44 (2014). 751 WIS. STAT. § 192.33(1) (2014). 752 49 U.S.C. § 701, et seq. (2014). 753 Pub. L. No. 104-88 (Dec. 29, 1995), summary available at Govtrack.us: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/104/hr2539/summary.

157 Statutes 802 B. Surface Transportation Board’s Regulatory and 802 Adjudicatory Powers The STB is an economic regulatory agency created by Congress to resolve issues and disputes concerning railroad rates and service and to review proposed railroad mergers, as well as other matters discussed below. C. Surface Transportation Board’s Jurisdiction 805 1. STB’s Exclusive Jurisdiction over the Construction, 805 Acquisition, Operation, Abandonment, or Discontinuance of Railroad Lines The STB has exclusive jurisdiction over the construction, acquisition, operation, abandonment, or discontinuance of railroad lines.754 2. Rates, Classifications, Rules, and Practices Prescribed 806 by the STB The STB has the authority to regulate rates charged by railroads for transportation.755 Cases 807 D. Surface Transportation Board Decisions 807 1. What Constitutes a Rail Line Subject to the Surface 807 Transportation Board’s Jurisdiction? In Brotherhood of R.R. Signalmen v. Surface Transp. Bd.,756 the District of Columbia Circuit held that the STB’s decision to grant the Massachusetts Department of Transportation an exemption regarding its purchase of railroad track and other assets from CSX Transportation, Inc., was reasonable under a Chevron analysis as explained further in this subpart of the digest. 754 49 U.S.C. § 10501(b)(2) (2014). 755 49 U.S.C. § 10704(a)(1) (2014). 756 638 F.3d 807, 813 (D.C. Cir. 2011), rehearing, en banc, denied, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 26370 (D.C. Cir., May 5, 2011).

158 2. Whether a Transload Facility Is Subject to the Surface 808 Transportation Board’s Jurisdiction New York & Atl. Ry. Co. v. Surface Transp. Bd.757 involved transportation by the New York & Atlantic Railway Company to a facility owned by Coastal Distribution, LLC (Coastal). The Second Circuit held that that Coastal was not a rail carrier and, thus, was not subject to the STB’s exclusive jurisdiction.758 3. No STB Jurisdiction over Proposed Intrastate Passenger Rail 809 Service in Florida In All Aboard Florida–Operations LLC and All Aboard Florida–Stations–Construction and Operation Exemption–in Miami, Fla. and Orlando, Fla.,759 concerning a proposed 230-mi intrastate rail passenger service in Florida, the STB ruled that it had no jurisdiction because the Line, located entirely within the state of Florida, “would not be part of the interstate rail network.”760 4. Recent Board Decision on an Exemption 811 In City of Belfast, Maine–Abandonment Exemption–In Belfast, ME,761 the STB granted an exemption but “subject to trail use, environmental, and standard employee protective conditions” because the line was only used for intrastate tourist purposes and had not been used for freight services since 1996.762 757 635 F.3d 66 (2d Cir. 2011). 758 Id. at 72, 73. 759 Surface Transportation Board, Docket No. FD 35680, at 1 (Service Date, Dec. 21, 2012). 760 Id. 761 2014 STB LEXIS 110, also available at http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/fc695db5bc7ebe2c852572b80040c45f/f93f3a565a22df 0085257cca004ec643?OpenDocument (last accessed Mar. 31, 2015). 762 Id. at *2.

159 5. Railroads Ordered to Provide Weekly Reports 812 In United States Rail Service Issues,763 the STB ordered Canadian Pacific and BNSF to send the STB weekly reports of their fertilizer shipment delivery plans after testimony at a hearing by farmers and agricultural producers that they would not be able to begin planting their spring crops without timely delivery of fertilizer. 6. STB Decision on Demurrage Rules 812 In 2014 the STB adopted final rules that address who may charge demurrage and who is subject to demurrage.764 Article 813 7. STB Ruling that the California High-Speed Rail Authority 813 Comes Within the STB’s Jurisdiction An online news article discusses a recent STB ruling that the California High-Speed Rail Authority comes within the STB’s jurisdiction.765 Statute 813 E. Judicial Review of STB Orders 813 Federal law provides that “district courts shall have jurisdiction of any civil action to enforce, in whole or in part, any order of the [STB];” “to enjoin or suspend, in whole or in part, any order of the [STB] for the payment of money or the collection of fines, penalties, and forfeitures;” and “to enjoin or suspend, in whole or in part, a rule, regulation of the [STB].”766 763 2014 STB LEXIS 97, at *1, 2, also available at http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/fc695db5bc7ebe2c852572b80040c45f/ad4c55d3da22d 5e985257cbb006e8cda?OpenDocument (last accessed Mar. 31, 2015). 764 Demurrage Liability, 2014 STB LEXIS 89, also available at http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/fc695db5bc7ebe2c852572b80040c45f/a9a5fd9636dd9 82785257cb7004d8f3f?OpenDocument (last accessed Mar. 31, 2015). 765 Kathy Hamilton, Surface Transportation Board Rules Against Rail Authority, EXAMINER, Apr. 28, 2013, available at http://www.examiner.com/article/surface-transportation-board-rules-against-rail-authority (last accessed Mar. 31, 2015). 766 28 U.S.C. §§ 2321 and 1336(a) (2014).

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TRB’s National Cooperative Rail Research Program (NCRRP) Legal Research Digest 2: Railroad Legal Issues and Resources presents legal issues of importance that attorneys may encounter when representing both freight and passenger railroad owners, and operators involved in railroad-related transactions. Issues explored in the report range from abandonment and discontinuance to constitutional law, construction, contracts, interaction with regulatory agencies, safety, retirement, and numerous other subjects.

The electronic version of the digest includes more than 700 pages of case law presenting detailed summaries of statutes, regulations, cases, and relevant articles as a fundamental resource for use in understanding the background and broad ramifications of railroad-related law reflected in each category. To access the case law, click the Roman numeral headings, which are linked to the legal topics. A search for the legal topic will also result in finding it. The printed digest includes an annotated index of the case law and a bound-in CD-ROM with the case law reference materials.

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