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PTC vs TIH - the railroads lose?
Author: SP5103
Date: 10-13-2015 - 22:17
It had to happen sooner or later - the railroads are now facing a no-win situation because after spending $5+ billion on a system that the government mandated, that wasn't proven or in production, and the FRA couldn't review or approve the specifications in a timely manner, and the FCC couldn't get them the required spectrum or antenna permits - the railroads are being sued to haul TIH (Toxic Inhalation Hazards like Anhydrous Ammonia, Chlorine, and the like) even though the FRA has said they will fine the railroads every day beginning January 1st.
The highlights in this latest fiasco are:
The American Chemistry Council, Chlorine Institute and The Fertilizer Institute have filed a request for a Declaratory Order with the STB and have also filed a complaint with the District Court in DC against all seven Class 1 railroads for a declaratory order and an injunction. The group claims that if they are not allowed to ship TIH by rail, the following are some of the potential impacts:
• the inability to burn coal because power plants cannot obtain anhydrous
ammonia needed to meet Clean Air Act emissions standards;
• the inability to use diesel fuel because anhydrous ammonia is not available
for production of diesel exhaust fluid ("DEF"), which reduces diesel
engine emissions;
• reductions in plastic production due to chlorine and ethylene oxide
shortages;
• shortages of life-saving pharmaceuticals and surgical supplies due to
chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, ethylene oxide shortages and other TIH
materials;
• a shortage of chemicals to deice planes and runways due to reduced
ethylene oxide production; and
• a shortage of methionine hydroxy analogue, which is essential to the
production of animal feed for livestock, due to the inability to transport the
TIH material methyl mercaptan, which is essential to production of
methionine hydroxy analogue.
Basically the argument is that the railroads have a common carrier obligation to haul TIH, that the Railway Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) that mandates PTC does not prohibit hauling TIH without PTC. The FRA has already indicated it will fine the railroads for not having PTC, but the lawsuit claims that the railroads can't embargo the traffic simply because they will be subject to fines and a loss of income. So the railroads are potentially stuck with Congress mandating PTC by January 1st, the STB ordering them to uphold their common carrier obligation (which the STB already indicated their reluctance to in this case) or perhaps the DC court, while the FRA is ready to start writing violations and fines.
So can a court or the STB order the railroad to violate the law by operating TIH over lines not equipped with a functioning PTC system? Surely there is some Constitutional Amendment that applies here, though the complainants argue the railroads have done it for a century, continue to do so today and tomorrow shouldn't be any different, and put the blame for not having PTC on the railroads. And all the while Congress argues about other things far more important.
It will be interesting to who acts first - the courts, the STB (hearings scheduled for November), or Congress?
I am slowly reading this - it even includes redactions of confidential information!
http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ba7f93537688b8e5852573210004b318/5c29d57f0df9300a85257ed00075648d?OpenDocument
The highlights in this latest fiasco are:
The American Chemistry Council, Chlorine Institute and The Fertilizer Institute have filed a request for a Declaratory Order with the STB and have also filed a complaint with the District Court in DC against all seven Class 1 railroads for a declaratory order and an injunction. The group claims that if they are not allowed to ship TIH by rail, the following are some of the potential impacts:
• the inability to burn coal because power plants cannot obtain anhydrous
ammonia needed to meet Clean Air Act emissions standards;
• the inability to use diesel fuel because anhydrous ammonia is not available
for production of diesel exhaust fluid ("DEF"), which reduces diesel
engine emissions;
• reductions in plastic production due to chlorine and ethylene oxide
shortages;
• shortages of life-saving pharmaceuticals and surgical supplies due to
chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, ethylene oxide shortages and other TIH
materials;
• a shortage of chemicals to deice planes and runways due to reduced
ethylene oxide production; and
• a shortage of methionine hydroxy analogue, which is essential to the
production of animal feed for livestock, due to the inability to transport the
TIH material methyl mercaptan, which is essential to production of
methionine hydroxy analogue.
Basically the argument is that the railroads have a common carrier obligation to haul TIH, that the Railway Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) that mandates PTC does not prohibit hauling TIH without PTC. The FRA has already indicated it will fine the railroads for not having PTC, but the lawsuit claims that the railroads can't embargo the traffic simply because they will be subject to fines and a loss of income. So the railroads are potentially stuck with Congress mandating PTC by January 1st, the STB ordering them to uphold their common carrier obligation (which the STB already indicated their reluctance to in this case) or perhaps the DC court, while the FRA is ready to start writing violations and fines.
So can a court or the STB order the railroad to violate the law by operating TIH over lines not equipped with a functioning PTC system? Surely there is some Constitutional Amendment that applies here, though the complainants argue the railroads have done it for a century, continue to do so today and tomorrow shouldn't be any different, and put the blame for not having PTC on the railroads. And all the while Congress argues about other things far more important.
It will be interesting to who acts first - the courts, the STB (hearings scheduled for November), or Congress?
I am slowly reading this - it even includes redactions of confidential information!
http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ba7f93537688b8e5852573210004b318/5c29d57f0df9300a85257ed00075648d?OpenDocument
PTC vs TIH - the railroads lose?