Surface Transportation Board
Encyclopedia
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
when the ICC was abolished. Other ICC regulatory functions were either eliminated or transferred to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration , established January 1, 2000, regulates the trucking industry in the United States. FMCSA is headquartered in Washington, DC and employs more than 1,000 people in all 50 States and the District of Columbia...
or to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics , as part of the United States Department of Transportation, compiles, analyzes, and makes accessible information on the nation's transportation systems; collects information on intermodal transportation and other areas as needed; and improves the quality and...
within DOT.
The STB has broad economic regulatory oversight of railroads, including rates, service, the construction, acquisition and abandonment of rail lines, carrier mergers and interchange of traffic among carriers. The STB also has certain 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 wide discretion, through its exemption authority from certain federal, state and local laws, to tailor its regulatory activities to meet the nation’s changing transportation needs.
Performance and policy goals
The Board provides a forum for the resolution of surface-transportation disputes and other matters within its jurisdiction. It has the authority to limit or remove regulatory requirements where appropriate.Organizational structure and current members
The Board is composed of three members nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. The Board’s chairman is designated by the President from among the members. As its chief executive, the chairman coordinates and organizes the agency’s work and acts as its representative in legislative matters and in relations with other governmental bodies. Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III was sworn in as the fifth chairman of the Surface Transportation Board on Aug. 13, 2009. He was nominated to the Board by President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on July 20, 2009 for a five-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2013. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7, 2009.
The vice chairman represents 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. Vice Chairman Charles D. Nottingham was sworn in on August 14, 2006, as a Board Member for a term ending December 31, 2010 and served as Board Chairman from August 14, 2006 to March 12, 2009.
Dr. Francis P. Mulvey is the board's third member. Mulvey was nominated to the Board by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on November 17, 2003, for a four-year term expiring on December 31, 2007. President Bush nominated Dr. Mulvey to a second term of office on November 30, 2007. On December 19, 2007, the Senate confirmed Mulvey's second term as a Member of the Board for a term of office ending December 31, 2012. Mulvey was designated Acting Chairman of the Board on March 12, 2009, by President Barack Obama.
Assisting the Board in carrying out its responsibilities is a staff of 150 with experience in economics, law, accounting, transportation analysis, finance and administration.
Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance
The Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance serves as 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 in ways ranging from a simple answer to a telephone inquiry to lengthy informal dispute resolution efforts between railroads and shippers.Office of Economics
The Office of Economics analyzes rate caseRate case
A rate case is the formal process which industries that have the legal designation of public utility are mandated to go through in order to set the rate at which they are allowed to charge consumers for their service...
s, conducts economic and financial analyses of the railroad industry, and audits Class I railroad
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
s.
Office of Environmental Analysis
The Office of Environmental Analysis is responsible for undertaking environmental reviews of proposed STB actions in accordance with the National Environmental Policy ActNational Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
and other environmental laws and making environmental recommendations to the STB.
Office of the Managing Director
The Office of the Managing Director handles administrative matters such as personnel, budget and information technology.Office of Proceedings
The Office of Proceedings (OP) is the office with primary responsibility for developing the public record in formal cases (or proceedings) filed with the STB, making recommendations regarding 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 own regulations. In carrying out its responsibilities, 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 the STB Recordations database, which is accessible to the public on the STB web site.
Office of General Counsel
The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) responds to questions on a variety of legal issues. However, its primary mission is two-fold: to defend the STB's decisions in court and to 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. 703d). Under the Hobbs ActHobbs Act
The Hobbs Act, named after Congressman Sam Hobbs and codified at , is a U.S. federal law that prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without reference to the conspiracy...
, when an STB order or decision is challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals, both the STB (represented by the agency's own 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, in most cases, jointly defend the agency's decisions, with 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 key to issuing sound decisions that are less likely to be challenged and, if challenged, are more likely to be upheld.