[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18948-18949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07605]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. EP 724]
United States Rail Service Issues
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public
hearing on April 10, 2014, at its offices in Washington, DC, to provide
interested persons the opportunity to report on recent service problems
in the United States rail network, to hear from rail industry
executives on plans to address their service problems, and to discuss
additional options to improve service.
DATES: The hearing will be held on April 10, 2014, beginning at 9:30
a.m., in the Hearing Room at the Board's headquarters located at 395 E
Street SW., Washington, DC. The hearing will be open for public
observation. Any person wishing to speak at the hearing shall file with
the Board a notice of intent to participate, identifying the party and
the proposed speaker, no later than April 7, 2014. The notices of
intent to participate are not required to be served on the parties of
record; they will be posted to the Board's Web site when they are
filed.
ADDRESSES: All filings may be submitted either via the Board's e-filing
format or in the traditional paper format. Any person using e-filing
should attach a document and otherwise comply with the instructions at
the ``E-FILING'' link on the Board's Web site at ``www.stb.dot.gov.''
Any person submitting a filing in the traditional paper format should
send an original and 10 copies of the filing to: Surface Transportation
Board, Attn: Docket No. EP 724, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
Copies of written submissions will be posted to the Board's Web
site and will be available for viewing and self-copying in the Board's
Public Docket Room, Suite 131. Copies of the submissions will also be
available (for a fee) by contacting the Board's Chief Records Officer
at (202) 245-0238 or 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Quinn at (202) 245-0382.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board has been closely monitoring the
rail industry's performance metrics, and is concerned about the service
problems that have been occurring across significant portions of the
nation's rail network, particularly on the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company (CP) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) systems. The Board Members
have written to CP and BNSF \1\ to express concerns that poor service
is negatively affecting agricultural, coal, passenger, and other
traffic. Per the Board's request, senior management representatives of
CP and BNSF met individually with each Board Member, and the Board
requested certain additional data from CP and BNSF.
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\1\ See Letter from Daniel R. Elliott III, Chairman, and Ann D.
Begeman, Vice Chairman, Surface Transportation Board, to Carl Ice,
President and Chief Exec. Officer, BNSF Railway Company (Feb. 5,
2014) (on file with the Board), available at http://stb.dot.gov
(open tab at ``E-Library, select ``Correspondence'', select ``Fall
Peak Letters'', follow ``02/05/2014'' hyperlink, and select the
``.pdf'' icon); Letter from Daniel R. Elliott III, Chairman, and Ann
D. Begeman, Vice Chairman, Surface Transportation Board, to E.
Hunter Harrison, Chief Exec. Officer and Dir., Canadian Pacific
Railway Company (Mar. 6, 2014) (on file with the Board), available
at http://stb.dot.gov (open tab at ``E-Library, select
``Correspondence'', select ``Fall Peak Letters'', follow ``03/06/
2014'' hyperlink, and select the ``.pdf'' icon).
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The Board's Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs and
Compliance (OPAGAC) has also been working with CP and BNSF to address
and correct service issues as they arise. Representatives of OPAGAC
have held numerous meetings and conference calls with affected parties
to better understand the specific problems shippers are facing, and to
help facilitate a quick resolution whenever possible. Board staff has
facilitated meetings in Fargo, North Dakota, on service issues with
shippers from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. We
anticipate that, following this public hearing, additional field
meetings in other affected areas will be held. The Board's hearing is
not intended to replace the informal and confidential process
facilitated by OPAGAC, and shippers and railroads are encouraged to
continue communicating through that office.
The Board will hold a public hearing beginning at 9:30 a.m., on
April 10, 2014,\2\ at its offices in Washington, DC, to provide an
opportunity for interested persons to report on the status of rail
service and to discuss ways to remedy the current service problems.\3\
The Board will direct executive-level officials from CP and BNSF to
appear at the hearing to discuss their ongoing and future efforts to
improve service on their railroads and to provide an estimated timeline
for a return to normal service levels. The Board particularly
encourages impacted shippers and/or shipper organizations to appear at
the hearing to discuss their service concerns and to comment on the
railroads'
[[Page 18949]]
plans.\4\ Also, given the service disruptions that have hindered nearly
all carriers that connect through the Chicago area, other Class I
railroads are also invited to file notices to appear at the hearing.
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\2\ Our regulations at 49 CFR 1012.3(c) provide generally for at
least seven days' advance notice of a public meeting. This decision
is being served more than seven days in advance of the April 10
hearing. Although Federal Register publication will not be effected
until April 7, 2014, we find that the service issues discussed above
require that this hearing be held as soon as possible. See 49 CFR
1012.3(e).
\3\ The Board and other agencies have held similar hearings in
the past to address transportation service issues. See, e.g., Rail
Transp. of Res. Critical to the Nation's Energy Supply, EP 672 (STB
served June 6, 2007); Notice of Discussions, AD06-8-000 (FERC issued
May 30, 2006); Discussions with Utility & R.R. Representatives on
Market & Reliability Matters, AD06-8-000 (FERC Transcript dated May
23, 2006).
\4\ On March 24, 2014, the Western Coal Traffic League (WCTL)
filed a Petition to Institute a Proceeding to Address the Adequacy
of Coal Transportation Service Originating in the Western United
States, Docket No. EP 723. The concerns raised in WCTL's petition
will be addressed as part of this docket.
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This decision will not significantly affect either the quality of
the human environment or the conservation of energy resources.
It is ordered:
1. A public hearing will be held on April 10, 2014, at 9:30 a.m.,
in the Board's Hearing Room, at 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC, as
described above.
2. CP and BNSF are directed to appear at the hearing.
3. By April 7, 2014, any person wishing to speak at the hearing
shall file with the Board a notice of intent to participate
(identifying the party and the proposed speaker). The notices of intent
to participate are not required to be served on the parties of record;
they will be posted to the Board's Web site when they are filed.
4. This decision is effective on its service date.
By the Board, Chairman Elliott and Vice Chairman Begeman.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-07605 Filed 4-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P