[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14907-14908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07272]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
49 CFR Part 1250
[Docket No. EP 724 (Sub-No. 5)]
Petition for Rulemaking; Railroad Performance Data Reporting
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notification of commencement of proceeding and request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is opening a
rulemaking proceeding in response to a petition to amend its railroad
performance data reporting rules. The Board does not rule on the merits
of the petition but requests additional information regarding several
issues raised in the petition and reply.
[[Page 14908]]
DATES: Comments addressing the information requests are due by May 6,
2019. Replies are due by May 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Comments and replies should reference Docket No. EP 724
(Sub-No. 5) and be submitted via the Board's e-filing format or in
writing addressed to: Chief, Section of Administration, Office of
Proceedings, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington,
DC 20423-0001. Any person using e-filing should attach a document and
otherwise comply with the instructions found on the Board's website at
www.stb.gov at the E-Filing link.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Ziehm, (202) 245-0391. Assistance
for the hearing impaired is available through Federal Relay Service at
(800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 6, 2018, the American Chemistry
Council (ACC) filed a petition for rulemaking \1\ to amend the Board's
railroad performance data reporting rules at 49 CFR part 1250. The
rules, which became effective on March 21, 2017, require all Class I
railroads and the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office, through
its Class I members, to report certain service performance metrics on a
weekly, semiannual, and occasional basis. ACC requests that the Board
modify its rules to: (1) Include chemical and plastics (STCC 28)
traffic as a distinct reporting category for the ``cars held'' metric
at 49 CFR 1250.2(a)(6); (2) extend the weekly average terminal dwell
time reporting requirement at 49 CFR 1250.2(a)(2) to include all Class
I, terminal, and switching carriers at the Chicago gateway; and (3)
extend the same types of terminal reporting requirements for the
Chicago gateway (as extended by ACC's second request) to the New
Orleans, East St. Louis, and Memphis gateways (together, Mississippi
Gateways). (ACC Pet. 1.) Among other things, ACC argues that shippers
benefit directly from railroad performance data reported under the
Board's existing rules and its members use that data to identify and
monitor service issues, anticipate and prepare for the impacts those
issues may have as they become more severe, spot service trends that
affect railcar cycle times, and mitigate the impact of cycle time
variability. (Id. at 4.) ACC states that access to performance data
also enables its members to have collaborative discussions with
carriers and allows shippers to suggest service adjustments to routes,
fleet sizes, and sourcing locations as viable solutions. (Id.)
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\1\ On December 12, 2018, ACC filed an errata to its petition.
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On January 28, 2019, the Association of American Railroads (AAR)
filed a reply in opposition to ACC's petition, arguing that additional
commodity-specific reporting should not be adopted, that ACC failed to
demonstrate the public benefit of additional Chicago reporting, and
that joint Mississippi Gateways information is unnecessary and would be
overly burdensome. Among other things, AAR argues that continuous
changes to the Board's performance reporting rules would impose ongoing
costs on railroads, which would need to make programming changes to
their systems to enable compliance. (AAR Reply 3; see also id. (quoting
AAR Reply, Jan. 7, 2018, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues--Performance Data
Reporting, EP 724 (Sub-No. 4) (stating that ``any further changes to
the list of required STCC codes [relating to fertilizer] for reporting
will necessitate additional programming changes and impose other costs
on rail carriers.'')).) Further, with respect to the Mississippi
Gateways reporting, AAR states, because the Mississippi Gateways do not
have the equivalent of the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office,
any joint service report would need to be built from the ground up from
data from individual carriers and would be burdensome to undertake; AAR
states the burden is not justified. (AAR Reply 6.)
The Board will open a rulemaking proceeding because ACC's petition
warrants further consideration. At this time, the Board is not making a
determination regarding the merits of ACC's specific proposals to amend
49 CFR part 1250, but rather will direct the parties to provide
additional information regarding ACC's proposed amendments to the
rules.
ACC will be directed to elaborate on shippers' experiences using
performance data reported under the existing rules to inform their
business and supply chain decision-making, in particular to mitigate
rail service problems. The Board seeks specific examples of these
situations. ACC will also be directed to explain how the additional
data that it proposes to be reported would materially enhance shippers'
business and supply chain decision-making with reference to specific
scenarios or real-world circumstances.\2\ And, if possible, ACC should
quantify the value of additional reporting.
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\2\ ACC need not disclose any confidential shipper information.
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The Board will also direct ACC to provide additional data
supporting its selection of the Mississippi Gateways, relative to other
terminal locations, both in terms of their significance to the overall
rail network and specifically to chemical traffic shipments. Further,
the Board requests ACC provide an explanation in greater detail of why
the existing performance data reported pursuant to Sec. 1250.2(a)(2)
are insufficient indicators as to rail performance across the network,
including at the Mississippi Gateways.
AAR will be directed to explain in greater detail (1) the
``programming changes'' railroads would need to make to comply with the
proposed reporting requirements; (2) the ``other costs'' that would be
associated with complying with the proposed reporting requirements; and
(3) the specific process individual carriers would need to undertake to
build ``from the ground up data'' to compile a joint service report at
each proposed Mississippi Gateway location. The Board directs AAR to
provide data that further describes or quantifies the ``ongoing costs''
and ``burden'' of the changes.
The Board will direct the parties to provide the information
described above by May 6, 2019. Any interested stakeholders may also
file comments addressing the information requests described above by
May 6, 2019. Replies will be due by May 20, 2019.
It is ordered:
1. ACC's petition for rulemaking is granted to the extent discussed
above.
2. The parties are directed to provide the information described
above by May 6, 2019. Other initial comments are also due by May 6,
2019.
3. Replies are due by May 20, 2019.
4. This decision is effective on its date of service.
Decided: April 5, 2019.
By the Board, Board Members Begeman, Fuchs, and Oberman.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2019-07272 Filed 4-11-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P