STB – Page 13 – Railfanning.org

STB: Mediated Settlement in Small Rail Rate-Complaint Case

February 1, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Charles D. Nottingham announced today that a mediated settlement has been reached in a case filed under the Board’s small rate-complaint procedures. As a result, the shipper has requested that its complaint be dismissed. “This settlement demonstrates that the STB can help resolve rail rate disputes in a matter of weeks — not months and years — and at a Reasonable cost to the parties,” Nottingham said. “I commend the parties and the STB staff mediators for their efforts to quickly resolve this matter. The STB will continue to promote mediation as an alternative

Appeals Court Upholds STB’s DM&E Decision

December 29, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board’s decision granting final approval to Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E) to construct a 280-mile rail line into Wyoming’s Powder River Basin was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) is seeking the largest federal loan to a private company in American history — a $2.3 billion in tax money from to finance a major rail expansion project through the Midwest. The loan guarantee from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would allow the DM&E to expand and improve a rail line that

STB Issues Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Southwest Gulf Line

December 10, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board’s Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) has issued the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the Southwest Gulf Railroad Company’s construction and operation of a roughly seven mile line in Medina County, Texas. SEA previously issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public review and comment in this proceeding in 2004. The DEIS assessed four potential rail routes for Southwest Gulf’s proposed rail line to connect a proposed Vulcan Construction Materials, LP limestone quarry and the Del Rio subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP), near Dunlay, Texas, as well as the

STB to Examine Grain Transport

October 14, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board will hold a Nov. 2 hearing to discuss issues related to the transportation of grain by railroad. On Oct. 6, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on rates, competition, and capacity issues in the American rail freight industry. According to the GAO preliminary report, the amount of grain traffic with comparatively high markups over variable cost increased notably between 1985 and 2004. Although GAO reported that changes that have occurred in the rail industry since the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 are widely viewed as positive – with a healthier

Opponents of $2.3 Billion DM&E Loan Voice Concern as Public Comment Period Draws to a Close

October 12, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – As public comments came to a close, a distinguished group of national leaders has voiced their opposition to the loan and called on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to deny a Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) proposal. “The American taxpayer is being railroaded again,” George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom Institute, a public policy foundation dedicated to promoting free market principles, said in a statement during the comment period. “The DM&E railroad has a history of failing to live up to its financial obligations. American taxpayers deserve to know who the money is going to and

Rochester Coalition: Largest Federal Loan in U.S. History Relying on Faulty Environmental Impact Statement

September 19, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) erred in adopting the environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) concerning the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s (DM&E) coal train expansion proposal, the Rochester Coalition said in comments filed today. “The FRA is relying on a dated, insufficient EIS that the Department of Transportation’s General Counsel’s Office has indicated is problematic,” said Steve Ryan, of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and legal counsel for the Rochester Coalition. “When considering granting a $2.3 billion taxpayer-funded loan – the largest federal loan to a private company in U.S. history

Surface Transportation Board Approves DM&E Request

August 15, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) has approved DM&E’s application to utilize a separate subsidiary to build and operate a new 280-mile rail line into the Powder River Basin. “We’re pleased with this latest victory,” said Kevin V. Schieffer, DM&E president and CEO. “It’s another step closer to our goal of creating the best, safest, most efficient and most modern railroad in the United States.” The STB’s decision, released late yesterday, will help expand the market for financing the $6 billion project. “We have to attract a lot of private financing regardless of the outcome of

Minnesotans Overwhelmingly Support DM&E Railroad Plan to Upgrade Track in Southern Minnesota

August 14, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW ULM, Minn. – By a 7-to-1 margin, Minnesotans favor Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s plan to upgrade its existing tracks in southern Minnesota, according to a new statewide survey of Minnesota voters about the railroad improvement plan. Asked why they favor it, supporters most often said that it would improve rail safety. The statewide survey found that 74 percent favor the DM&E plan, 10.4 percent oppose it and 15.7 percent did not know or refused to answer. Minnesotans voiced an equally strong conviction that the project would benefit farmers. The survey found that 71 percent believed the DM&E upgrade

STB Seeking Public Comments on Railroad’s Fuel Surcharge Practices

August 3, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board is seeking public comments on several measures the agency proposes to adopt regarding railroad practices involving fuel surcharges. The proposals follow the agency’s May 11, 2006, public hearing about how fuel surcharges are calculated and charged by railroads and the extensive testimony submitted to the agency by the rail industry, the public and railroad customers regarding those practices. Specifically, the STB is proposing that: A railroad wishing to assess a fuel surcharge would need to develop a computation more closely linked to its increased fuel costs attributable to that movement Railroads would be prohibited

STB Planning to Hold Grain Public Hearing

July 28, 2006 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Some time this fall, the Surface Transportation Board is planning to hold a public hearing to address "certain issues related to the rail transportation of grain," the agency announced in a news release. The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) on June 21 released preliminary observations on rates, competition and capacity issues within the American rail freight industry. GAO reported that the changes that have occurred in the rail industry since the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 are widely viewed as positive. The financial health of the industry has improved substantially as railroads have cut costs and boosted