Misplaced Pages

#154845

35-464: On May 15, 2008, Norfolk Southern Railway announced that it had come to an agreement with Pan Am Railways to "create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area called the 'Patriot Corridor'." On March 12, 2009, Norfolk Southern and Pan Am received STB approval of the deal. As of May 1, 2009, each of the two companies owns 50% of Pan Am Southern. PAR's trackage between Ayer, Massachusetts and Mechanicville, New York

70-448: A commission, board, or similar collegial body consisting of five to seven members who share power over the agency. (This is why many independent agencies include the word "Commission" or "Board" in their name.) The president appoints the commissioners or board members , subject to Senate confirmation, but they often serve terms that are staggered and longer than a four-year presidential term, meaning that most presidents will not have

105-586: A forum for resolving surface transportation disputes and other matters within its jurisdiction. It has the authority to limit or remove regulatory requirements where appropriate. The Board comprises five members nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. The President designates the Board's chairman from among the members. As its chief executive, the chairman coordinates and organizes

140-526: A narrower sense, the term independent agency refers only to these independent regulatory agencies that, while considered part of the executive branch, have rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited. Independent agencies can be distinguished from the federal executive departments and other executive agencies by their structural and functional characteristics. Their officers can be protected from removal by

175-882: A proposal was made to establish "reciprocal switching rules" to require railroads to create arrangements where shippers could access competing carriers instead of other options. In 2022, Chairman Oberman supported reciprocal switching rules, arguing they would address shippers' complaints and encourage industry competition. The STB has the authority to regulate rates, service, construction, acquisition, railbanking and abandonment of rail lines, carrier mergers, and traffic interchanges. The STB also has oversight of pipeline carriers, intercity bus carriers, moving van companies, trucking companies involved in collective activities, and water carriers engaged in non-contiguous domestic trade. The Board has broad discretion, through its exemption authority from federal , state , and local laws, to implement transportation regulation. The Board provides

210-761: A result of CSX's purchase of Pan Am Railways in June 2022, Pan Am Southern will no longer be operated by PAR. CSX inherited PAR's 50 percent stake in Pan Am Southern, with competitor Norfolk Southern owning the remaining half. CSX and NS reached an agreement to have Pan Am Southern be operated by a new Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary named the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad , which the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved. The United States Department of Justice had recommended that

245-433: A simple answer to a telephone inquiry to lengthy informal dispute resolution efforts between railroads and shippers. The Office of Economics analyzes rate cases , conducts economic and financial analyses of the railroad industry, and audits Class I railroads . The Office of Economics, Environmental Analysis and Administration is responsible for undertaking environmental reviews of proposed STB actions in accordance with

280-526: Is a staff of 117 (FY2018) with experience in economics, law, accounting, transportation analysis, finance, and administration. The Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance is the agency's principal point of contact with Congress, state and local governments, the media, industry stakeholders, and the general public. This office includes the Rail Customer and Public Assistance Program, where Board staff solves problems ranging from

315-567: The Hobbs Act , when an STB order or decision is challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals , both the STB (represented by the agency's attorneys) and the United States (represented by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys) must be named as "respondents" (defendants), and both have authority to appear in court in such cases. STB and DOJ attorneys jointly defend the agency's decisions, with

350-956: The Interstate Commerce Commission when the ICC was abolished. Other ICC regulatory functions were either eliminated or transferred to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Bureau of Transportation Statistics within the Department of Transportation . Since its founding, various legislation pertaining to the STB's functions has been introduced in Congress. In 2015, the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act

385-578: The National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental laws and making environmental recommendations to the STB. The Office of the Managing Director handles administrative matters such as personnel, budget, and information technology. The Office of Proceedings (OP) is primarily responsible for developing the public record in formal cases (or proceedings) filed with the STB, making recommendations regarding

SECTION 10

#1732779942155

420-908: The Securities and Exchange Commission , the Federal Reserve , the Commodity Futures Trading Commission , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation , and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . Generally, the heads of independent regulatory agencies can only be removed for cause, but Cabinet members and heads of independent executive agencies, such as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency , serve "at

455-450: The "intercity bus industry, non-energy pipelines, household goods carriers’ tariffs, and rate regulation of non-contiguous domestic water transportation". The board comprises five members nominated by the President, each subject to Senate confirmation. Since 2024, Democrat Robert E. Primus has served as chair of the STB. The STB was established on January 1, 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by

490-414: The Board and assumes the chairman's duties as appropriate. Additionally, the vice chairman oversees matters involving the admission, discipline, and disbarment of non-attorney Board practitioners. The current vice chairman is Karen Hedlund , appointed on January 9, 2023, succeeding Michelle A. Schultz in the board's annual rotation of that position. Assisting the Board in carrying out its responsibilities

525-470: The Office of Proceedings obtains and applies any necessary input from economic, financial, operational, environmental, and other legal staff experts throughout the agency. The Office of Proceedings includes a clearance unit responsible for tabulating votes on STB cases and recording the official outcome of those votes and a recordations unit that enters data about a filing's primary and secondary documents into

560-583: The STB Recordations database, which is accessible to the public on the STB web site. The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) responds to questions on various legal issues. However, its primary mission is to defend the STB's decisions in court and assess the defensibility of agency decisions that might be challenged in court. Unlike most Federal agencies, the STB has independent litigating authority ( 49 U.S.C.   § 703(d) ). Under

595-517: The STB require CSX to sell its stake in PAS as a condition of the merger to prevent a reduction in competition. Railroads in New England, including Vermont Rail System and Canadian Pacific Railway , had also objected to the plan for G&W to operate PAS, as it would give G&W an even more extensive network in the region than it currently has. Canadian Pacific in particular asserted in a filing to

630-417: The STB that the purchase would give CSX control of both of the primary east to west rail lines in New England and leave other companies at a competitive disadvantage. The STB rejected those arguments. Surface Transportation Board The Surface Transportation Board ( STB ) of the United States is an independent federal agency that serves as an adjudicatory board. The board was created in 1996 following

665-538: The STB's attorneys preparing written briefs (in consultation with DOJ attorneys) and presenting oral arguments on behalf of the Federal Government. In performing defensibility assessments, OGC attorneys meet with other STB staff to discuss cases before draft decisions are prepared. Defensibility assessments are crucial to issuing sound choices that are less likely to be challenged and, if challenged, are more likely to be upheld. Independent agencies of

700-644: The United States government [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In the United States government , independent agencies are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President . In a narrower sense, the term refers only to those independent agencies that, while considered part of the executive branch , have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because

735-485: The abolition of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and absorbed regulatory powers relevant to the railroad industry previously under the ICC's purview. The STB has broad economic regulatory oversight of railroads in the United States, including matters related to the construction, acquisition , abandonment of rail lines, railbanking , carrier mergers, and interchange of traffic between carriers and some passenger rail matters. The board also has jurisdiction over

SECTION 20

#1732779942155

770-560: The agency's work and acts as its representative in legislative matters and relations with other governmental bodies. The current chairman is Democrat Robert E. Primus , who was nominated to the STB by President Donald Trump in 2020, confirmed by the Senate, and sworn in in January 2021. Primus was chosen by President Joe Biden to serve as chairman of the STB on May 11, 2024, succeeding Martin J. Oberman , who had been Chairman between January 2021 and May 2024. The vice chairman represents

805-613: The commissioners – the Appointments Clause of the Constitution vests that power in the president. The Senate does participate, however, in appointments through " advice and consent ", which occurs through confirmation hearings and votes on the president's nominees. These agencies are not represented in the cabinet and are not part of the Executive Office of the president: Although not officially part of

840-399: The federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President. There is a further distinction between independent executive agencies and independent regulatory agencies, which have been assigned rulemaking responsibilities or authorities by Congress. The Paperwork Reduction Act lists 19 enumerated "independent regulatory agencies", such as

875-415: The governing statute, but the functional differences have more legal significance. In reality, the high turnover rate among these commissioners or board members means that most presidents have the opportunity to fill enough vacancies to constitute a voting majority on each independent agency commission within the first two years of the first term as president. In some famous instances, presidents have found

910-712: The independent agencies more loyal and in lockstep with the president's wishes and policy objectives than some dissenters among the executive agency political appointments . Although Congress can pass statutes limiting the circumstances under which the president can remove commissioners of independent agencies, if the independent agency exercises any executive powers like enforcement, and most of them do, Congress cannot reserve removal power over executive officers to itself. Constitutionally, Congress can only remove officers through impeachment proceedings. Members of Congress cannot serve as commissioners on independent agencies that have executive powers, nor can Congress itself appoint

945-442: The opportunity to appoint all the commissioners of a given independent agency. In addition, most independent agencies have a statutory requirement of bipartisan membership on the commission, so the president cannot simply fill vacancies with members of his own political party. The president can normally designate which commissioner will serve as the chairperson. Congress can designate certain agencies explicitly as "independent" in

980-419: The pleasure of the president" and can be removed without cause. The degree to which the President has the power to use executive orders to set policy for independent executive agencies is disputed. Many orders specifically exempt independent agencies, but some do not. Executive Order 12866 has been a particular matter of controversy; it requires cost-benefit analysis for certain regulatory actions. In

1015-483: The power to remove officials from agencies that were "an arm or an eye of the executive", it upheld statutory limitations on the president's power to remove officers of administrative bodies that performed quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial functions, such as the Federal Trade Commission. Presidents normally do have the authority to remove regular executive agency heads at will , but they must meet

1050-443: The president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited. Established through separate statutes passed by Congress , each respective statutory grant of authority defines the goals the agency must work towards, as well as what substantive areas, if any, over which it may have the power of rulemaking. These agency rules (or regulations), when in force, have the power of federal law. Independent agencies exist outside

1085-466: The president, they can be controlled by a board that cannot be appointed all at once, and the board can be required to be bipartisan. Presidential attempts to remove independent agency officials have generated most of the important Supreme Court legal opinions in this area. In 1935, the Supreme Court in the case of Humphrey's Executor v. United States decided that although the president had

Pan Am Southern - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-584: The resolution of issues presented in those cases, and preparing the decisions issued by the Board. The Office of Proceedings is a legal office consisting almost entirely of attorneys and paralegal specialists responsible for the majority of the cases at the STB. The office applies the Interstate Commerce Act , as amended by the ICC Termination Act of 1995 , as well as the Board's regulations. In carrying out its responsibilities,

1155-409: The statutory requirements for removal of commissioners of independent agencies, such as demonstrating incapacity, neglect of duty , malfeasance , or other good cause . While most executive agencies have a single director, administrator, or secretary appointed by the president of the United States , independent agencies (in the narrower sense of being outside presidential control) almost always have

1190-510: Was passed, which expanded the Board from three to five members. The passage of the legislation transformed the STB, which had been "administratively aligned" with the Department of Transportation while still decisionally independent, into an entirely independent federal agency . In response to concerns regarding increasing corporate concentration in the rail industry, the STB has considered proposals to encourage rail competition. In 2016,

1225-499: Was transferred to PAS and continued to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway Company subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $ 137.5 million. Planned improvements to the route included track and signal upgrades, and expansion of terminals, including new automotive and intermodal terminals constructed in Ayer, Massachusetts and Mechanicville, New York . Planned lines were as follows: As

#154845