The Surface Transportation Board (Board) today announced that it has extended its April 24, 2008 public hearing on the common carrier obligation of railroads from one day to two. The hearing will now be held on April 24 and 25, 2008. The Board extended the hearing schedule in the proceeding entitled Common Carrier Obligation of Railroads, STB Ex Parte No. 677, in response to, and to accommodate, the number of persons and parties expressing their interest in the matter at issue.
The hearing now will begin at 9:00 a.m. on both Thursday, April 24, and Friday, April 25, 2008. The hearing will be held in the Board's Hearing Room on the 1st Floor of the agency's headquarters at Patriots Plaza, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
The Board initially announced the April 24 hearing in STB Ex Parte No. 677 in a decision issued to the public on February 22, 2008. Based on submissions received, the Board has set the hearing's schedule of speakers as shown on the Attachment to this news release.
Attendance instructions. The STB requests that all persons attending the hearing use the Patriots Plaza Building's main entrance at 395 E Street, S.W. (closest to the northeast corner of the intersection of 4th and E Streets). There will be no reserved seating, except for witnesses. The building will be open to the public at 7:00 a.m. and participants are encouraged to arrive early. There is no public parking in the building. Upon arrival, check in at the 1st Floor security desk in the main lobby. Be prepared to produce valid photo identification (driver's license or local, state, or federal-government identification); sign-in at the security desk; receive a Hearing Room pass (to be displayed at all times); submit to an inspection of all briefcases, handbags, etc.; then pass through a metal detector. Upon entering the Hearing Room, witnesses should check in with the Board Secretary. Persons choosing to exit the building during the course of the hearing must surrender their Hearing Room passes to security personnel and will be subject to the above security procedures if they choose to re-enter the building. Hearing Room passes likewise will be collected from those exiting the hearing upon its conclusion.
Laptops and recorders may be brought into the Hearing Room, but no provision will be made for the connection of personal computers to the Internet. Cellular telephone use is not permitted in the Hearing Room; cell phones may be used quietly in the corridor surrounding the Hearing Room, or in the building's main lobby.
The Board's Hearing Room complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and persons needing such accommodations should telephone (202) 245-0245 by the close of business on April 23, 2008.
The Board announced its extension of the hearing and its provision of the schedule of speakers' appearances and time allocations in a decision issued today, April 3, 2008 in STB Ex Parte No. 677. That schedule is available for viewing and downloading, via the agency's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov, under "E-Library," then under "Decisions & Notices," beneath the date "4/3/08."
A video broadcast of the hearing will be accessible via the STB's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov, under "Information Center"/"Webcast"/"Live Video" on the home page.
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ATTACHMENT (speakers' list)
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Attachment
STB Ex Parte No. 677
Common Carrier Obligation of Railroads
SCHEDULE OF APPEARANCESAPRIL 24, 2008
Party/Speaker/Time Allotted (minutes)
Panel I: Members of Congress
The Honorable Ron Wyden, U.S. Senate / 20
Panel II: Federal Government
U.S. Department of Agriculture / Barbara C. Robinson / 10
Panel III: Freight Railroads
BNSF Railway Company / Richard E. Weicher / 10
Union Pacific Railroad Company / J. Michael Hemmer / 10
Kansas City Southern Railway Company / David C. Reeves / 10
Panel IV: State Government Interests
Washington State Department of Transportation / Scott L. Witt / 15
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture / Roger Johnson / 15
North Dakota Public Service Commission / William W. Binek / 15
Panel V-A: Grain Shippers and Agricultural Interests
State of Montana / The Honorable Mike McGrath or the Honorable Jim Lynch / 10
Idaho Wheat Commission, et al. / Terry C. Whiteside / 10
National Grain and Feed Association / Kendell W. Keith or Dan Mack / 15
North Dakota Grain Dealers Association / Steven D. Strege / 10
Ag Processing Inc. / Terry J. Voss / 10
Panel V-B: Chemical Shippers
American Chemistry Council / Jack N. Gerard / 15
Dow Chemical Company / Cindy Elliott / 10
Calabrian Corporation / Charles E. Cogliandro / 10
Olin Chlor-Alkali Products / John McIntosh / 10
Panel V-C: Chemical Shippers
US Magnesium LLC / Howard I. Kaplan / 10
DuPont Company / Gary W. Spitzer / 10
Total Petrochemicals USA, Inc. / Bernard Claude / 10
Occidental Chemical Corporation / Robin A. Burns / 10
Panel V-D: Other Shippers and Shipper Interests
The National Industrial Transportation League /Doug Kratzberg, Nicholas DiMichael/ 10
International Paper Company / John C. Runyan / 10
Coos-Siskiyou Shippers Coalition / Allyn C. Ford / 10
APRIL 25, 2008
Party/Speaker/Time Allotted (minutes)
Panel I: Freight Railroads
CSX Transportation, Inc. / John M. Gibson / 10
Norfolk Southern Corporation / James A. Hixon / 10
Association of American Railroads / Edward R. Hamberger / 15
Panel II: Short Line and Regional Railroads
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Assoc./Richard F. Timmons, Keith T. Borman/10
RailAmerica, Inc. / Paul Lundberg / 10
Chicago SouthShore & South Bend Railroad Co. / Henry B. Lampe / 10
CNJ Rail Corporation / Eric S. Strohmeyer / 10
Progressive Rail, Incorporated / David Fellon / 10
Panel III: Coal Shippers and Utilities
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation / Steve Sharp / 10
Concerned Captive Coal Shippers / C. Michael Loftus and Andrew B. Kolesar III / 10
Edison Electric Institute / To be determined and Michael F. McBride / 15
Western Coal Traffic League / Peter A. Pfohl / 5
Panel IV: Labor
United Transportation Union-General Committee of Adjustment / To be determined / 5
Panel V: Other Interests
Clean Earth of North Jersey, Inc. / Robert P. Fixter / 10
Slaughter Company / Benjamin B. Slaughter / 10
Raymond Tylicki / 10
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