FOR RELEASE
Contact: Janie Sheng (202) 245-0221
08/16/2006 (Wednesday)
No. 06-14


FedRelay 1 (800) 877-8339
www.stb.gov



SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD ANNOUNCES SWEARING IN OF CHARLES D. NOTTINGHAM AS NEWEST MEMBER, & HIS DESIGNATION AS AGENCY CHAIRMAN BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH


The Surface Transportation Board announced today that Charles D. ("Chip") Nottingham was sworn in as the newest Member of the STB, and that he was designated its new Chairman by President George W. Bush, on August 14, 2006.


Chairman Nottingham's oath of office was administered on August 14 in the office of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Acting Secretary Maria Cino in the presence of the current STB Members, W. Douglas Buttrey and Francis P. Mulvey. Chairman Nottingham was nominated by President Bush to be an STB Member on June 5, 2006. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 4, 2006. The STB's ninth member and its fourth Chairman, Chairman Nottingham will serve a term of office ending December 31, 2010.


Prior to joining the STB, Chairman Nottingham was the Associate Administrator for Policy and Governmental Affairs for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) at the U.S. DOT. From 1999-2002, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). At VDOT, Chairman Nottingham managed a workforce of 10,500 and the third largest state-maintained highway system in the Nation. He previously served as Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Transportation. From 1995-98, Chairman Nottingham served as Counsel and Chief of Staff for Congressman Tom Davis (VA-11) and Chief of Staff for Congressman Bob Goodlatte (VA-6). Prior to his appointment to his previous position at the FHWA in 2002, Chairman Nottingham served as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform.


Chairman Nottingham received his B.A. degree in U.S. History from Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, and his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, VA. The Chairman makes his home in Fredericksburg, VA, with his wife, Catherine Nottingham, and two young sons.


In taking the oath of office, Chairman Nottingham said,

"I am deeply honored to have been nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board. Our Nation's economic health and quality of life depend on our ability to improve our transportation infrastructure. I look forward to working at the Surface Transportation Board and to addressing these infrastructure and other critical issues."

He also thanked Acting Secretary Cino and his colleagues at the FHWA and U.S. DOT.


The STB is an economic regulatory agency charged by Congress with the fundamental missions of resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers. Though administratively affiliated with the U.S. DOT, the STB is a decisionally independent agency. It was created by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 and is the successor agency to the former Interstate Commerce Commission.


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