[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 20 (Thursday, February 7, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-284. A collection of petitions forwarded by the Benefit 
     Security Coalition relative to establishing a more equitable 
     method of computing cost of living adjustments for Social 
     Security benefits; to the Committee on Finance.
       POM-285. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     New Jersey urging Congress to enact the ``Clean Railroads Act 
     of 2007''; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation.
        Whereas, the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination 
     Act of 1995 (``ICCTA''), which established the Surface 
     Transportation Board (``STB'') to assume regulatory 
     jurisdiction over the operation of interstate rail service, 
     is a broad federal railroad law that has been interpreted as 
     forbidding state and local environmental regulatory agencies 
     from overseeing the safe handling of trash or solid waste at 
     solid waste management facilities that are located on 
     railroad property; and
        Whereas, Congress has eliminated state and local 
     regulation of rail and rail-related operations so that 
     railroads may operate across states and not have to comply 
     with many sets of state and local regulations; yet some solid 
     waste management companies have abused this federal 
     preemption protection by building facilities on railroad 
     property in order to avoid state and local regulations; and
       Whereas, solid waste management facilities that operate on 
     railroad property are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction 
     of the STB, and therefore are exempt from state and local 
     solid waste permits and regulations designed to promote 
     public health, increase safety, and preserve the environment; 
     yet due to uncertainty in the federal law that grants the STB 
     such jurisdiction, the STB only passively regulates these 
     facilities, so that these facilities are able to escape the 
     regulations that apply to similar facilities located anywhere 
     except railroad property; and
        Whereas, companies that have taken advantage of this 
     exemption from state and local laws by building solid waste 
     management facilities next to railroad tracks have been able 
     to ignore environmental concerns and the safety and welfare 
     of nearby communities; and
        Whereas, in 2004, New Jersey implemented regulations that 
     governed operations at rail-hard solid waste management 
     facilities, yet when the State attempted to fine the New York 
     Susquehanna and Western (``NYS&W'') Railway Corporation for 
     violating these regulations, the railroad immediately filed 
     suit against the State, and the district court of New Jersey 
     ruled that the ICCTA's exemption of railroads and their 
     facilities from state and local oversight preempted New 
     Jersey's regulations; and
        Whereas, due to limited available disposal options, 
     combined stringent state and local regulations, there has 
     been a recent surge within the construction and operation of 
     these unregulated solid waste management facilities along 
     rail lines in New Jersey and throughout the Northeast; and
        Whereas, in order to protect its residents from the 
     environmental, safety, and health hazards associated with 
     solid waste management facilities, the State needs the 
     authority to regulate all of these sites, including those 
     located on railroad property; and
        Whereas, trade associations representing conventional 
     solid waste processors, such as the National Solid Wastes 
     Management Association (``NSWMA'') and the Solid Waste 
     Association of North America (``SWANA''), do not support 
     federal preemption of state and local regulation of rail-
     based processors and are working to stop allowing rail-based 
     solid waste facilities to sidestep important regulations; and
        Whereas, Senator Lautenberg and Congressman Pallone have 
     introduced S. 719 and H.R. 1248, respectively, which are 
     identical pieces of legislation that, if passed, would amend 
     federal law to clarify that solid waste management facilities 
     located on railroad property do not fall under the 
     jurisdiction of the STB; and
        Whereas, S. 719 and H.R. 1248, also known as the ``Clean 
     Railroads Act of 2007,'' would close the federal loophole 
     currently being exploited by solid waste management companies 
     and provide New Jersey and every other state with the clear 
     authority to regulate solid waste management facilities 
     located on railroad property: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
       1. This Senate Resolution memorializes Congress to enact S. 
     719 or H.R. 1248, otherwise known as the ``Clean Railroads 
     Act of 2007,'' which would remove the authority to regulate 
     solid waste management facilities located on railroad 
     property from the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation 
     Board, thus allowing state and local authorities to regulate 
     such facilities.
       2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by 
     the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary 
     thereof, shall be transmitted to the President and Vice 
     President of the United States, the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, the majority and minority 
     leaders of United States Senate and the United States House 
     of Representatives, and each member of the New Jersey 
     congressional delegation.

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