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transport tips continued
are simply not known, and it appears BNSF is in a hurry to act without allowing them to become known. Why?
One has to wonder why the trucking industry, under the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, must cover (tarp) their loads at their own expense, but their railroad competitors are well on their way to forcing their shippers to pay for controlling coal dust from trains. It would seem there are serious inconsistencies with- in the rail and trucking jurisdictions of the STB, or within the branches of Congress that regulate transportation.
Moving On
No one argues that coal dust is not a prob- lem. From the shippers' point of view the argument is over who should pay for the solution. In the collective mind of BNSF and perhaps other railroads it undoubtedly goes deeper. The railroad is their demesne, sacred ground upon which none may tread without permission. They will speak about it to no one who has not signed a contract, even though it may be to their own benefit in the long run to do so. Shippers may not like it, but BNSF has done business this way for decades, and are not likely to change soon. WCTL had argued that reopening the coal dust case was appropriate because BNSF was not collaborative in developing the new tariff in violation of the March 2011 decision. While the Board had sought and even encouraged consensual resolution of disputes, their prior decision did not impose upon BNSF a regulatory obligation to consult with its shippers prior to issuing a new coal tariff dealing with coal dust suppression. Railroad industry watchers would have been happily shocked if BNSF had offered to nego- tiate with shippers a solution to the coal dust problem, but it surprised no one when they elected to choose the dictatorial route. In a decision served November 22, 2011, the Board denied WCTL's request to reopen the proceeding in Docket 35305 and to insti- tute mediation between BNSF and coal shippers regarding the BNSF new coal dust tariff. However, the Board will institute a new proceeding to consider the reasonable- ness of the tariff's "safe harbor" provision. This new declaratory order proceeding is titled "Reasonableness of BNSF Railway Company Coal Dust Mitigation Tariff Provisions," Docket No. FD35557. WCTL and BNSF were directed to file a proposed procedural schedule by December 12, 2011.
Dave Gambrel is a private consultant to the coal transportation industry. He may be reached at bunkgambrel@earthlink.net.
December 2011