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Middletown, NY - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today announced his strong opposition to the proposed construction of a private, solid waste transfer station in the City of Middletown. Hinchey sent a letter this afternoon to the heads of the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) requesting their intervention in the matter. The congressman also announced his cosponsorship of legislation in the House that would explicitly prevent rail operators from using federal railroad preemptions to site waste transfer station facilities on their property without local and state reviews and regulation.
Chartwell International, which recently purchased the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad, announced its plans to construct and operate a solid waste transfer station on their railroad properties in Middletown. The company indicated its belief that construction of such a facility is exempt from local and state reviews by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) of 1995, allowing Chartwell to construct a facility without environmental or site plan reviews.
Hinchey, who has an extensive history of investigating and reforming the solid waste industry in New York State over his long career in public service, stated, "We've already seen the dangers of poor regulation of the solid waste industry. If we allow corporations to use a misinterpretation of federal railroad statutes to build waste facilities without proper state and local reviews, we will undermine much of the progress that we have made in past decades on cleaning up this industry."
Hinchey's letter to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the STB challenged Chartwell's contention that a solid waste facility on rail property was eligible under federal law for exemption from state and local reviews. In his letter to the STB, Hinchey said that Chartwell's statement, "indicates a gross misreading and misinterpretation of the ICCTA provisions." He added, "Congress did not provide an unlimited and open-ended loophole through the ICCTA that allows any type of facility to avoid state and local reviews by simply locating their facilities on railroad property." Hinchey maintains that the federal preemptions are reserved solely for facilities that are directly related to the functioning of rail transportation and not for solid waste facilities.
Hinchey further requested that if the STB does believe it has jurisdiction over such waste facilities, that it move quickly to exert its regulatory authority while Congress works to clarify and correct the matter legislatively. Currently, the STB has in place regulations for reviewing rail lines and railroad operations themselves, but the STB apparently lacks procedures and rules for regulating and reviewing facilities near rail lines owned by rail owners. Hinchey expressed to the STB his strong concerns that prompt action was needed to prevent waste facilities from abusing federal rail preemptions intended solely for facilities integral or necessary for rail transportation. The STB is an economic regulatory agency that Congress charged with the fundamental missions of resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers and operations. The STB makes its decisions independently, although it is administratively affiliated with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Additionally, Hinchey today announced that he is an original cosponsor of legislation that would amend and clarify provisions in the ICCTA. Hinchey's legislation would explicitly prevent solid waste transfer stations, such as the one proposed by Chartwell International, from being included under ICCTA provisions that exempt facilities directly related to the operation of rail transportation from local and state reviews. Hinchey proposed this legislation along with Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and several other House colleagues from New Jersey, where similar facilities have been proposed on railroad properties using what many consider a misinterpretation of the ICCTA.
Middletown Mayor Marlinda Duncanson, who contacted Hinchey's office for assistance with this matter said, "The City certainly appreciates the efforts by Congressman Hinchey and our other elected officials to stop this project from moving forward. We hope this will send a loud and unified message to Chartwell International that Middletown will do everything it can to defeat their transfer station proposal."
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The text of Hinchey's letter to the STB follows:
March 1, 2006
The text of Hinchey's letter to the STB follows:
March 1, 2006
Hon. W. Douglas Buttrey, Chairman Hon. Francis P. Mulvey, Vice Chairman
Surface Transportation Board Surface Transportation Board
1925 K Street, N.W., Suite 810 1925 K Street, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20423 Washington, DC 20423
By Fax and By Mail: (202) 565-9016
Dear Chairman Buttrey and Vice Chairman Mulvey:
I am writing to bring to your attention an issue that is of great concern to my constituents in the 22nd Congressional District as well as those in a growing number of other areas around the country. Specifically, I am requesting your consideration and assistance in preventing solid waste transfer station operators from improperly using federal preemptions from state and local reviews for railroads and related facilities to construct waste facilities without any oversight or review at any level of government.
In the City of Middletown, New York, a local rail line, the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad, was recently purchased by a corporation named Chartwell International. Chartwell has indicated to the local press its intention to construct and operate a solid waste transfer station on their rail properties. Further, the company has stated its belief that it is exempt from any local and state environmental or site reviews based on federal preemption provisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) of 1995.
Chartwell's statement regarding the solid waste transfer station indicates a gross misreading and misinterpretation of the ICCTA provisions. Congress did not provide an unlimited and open-ended loophole through the ICCTA that allows any type of facility to avoid state and local reviews by simply locating their facilities on or near railroad property. This federal preemption is reserved solely for facilities directly related to the functioning of rail transportation, and defining a solid waste transfer station as such is disingenuous and incorrect. Solid waste facilities have nothing to do with the functioning of rail transportation and should be subject to all appropriate state and local environmental reviews.
Section 10501 of the ICCTA indicates that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has jurisdiction over "the construction, acquisition, operation, abandonment, or discontinuance of spur, industrial, team, switching, or side tracks, or facilities..." In this section of the law, Congress intended to give the STB jurisdiction over only facilities that are integral or necessary to the operation of the railroads themselves. Solid waste transfer stations were never meant to be included under the interpretation of rail facilities. However, transfer station operators now seem to be twisting the intention of this law to circumvent local and state environmental reviews for their projects. I am sponsoring a legislative amendment to the ICCTA to make it even more clear that transfer stations are not included in the definition of rail facilities; but in the shorter term, I would also ask the STB to review this situation and take any appropriate actions to protect communities around the country.
The STB currently has in place procedures for reviewing public convenience and necessity for the construction, acquisition and operation of rail lines, themselves. However, I understand that the STB may not have in place procedures for the review of facilities that may be located near rail lines by rail owners. It seems that due to the proliferating number of solid waste transfer operators in New York State and other states that are using federal rail preemption to avoid all environmental and site reviews for constructing and operating their facilities, the STB needs to scrutinize and respond to this matter quickly.
If the STB does believe that solid waste facilities near rail lines fall under its jurisdiction, then I respectfully request that the STB promptly consider implementing a rule making process to establish a reasonable and rational process for review of such facilities. These facilities need to be subject to some level of environmental review and regulation to ensure that they do not threaten the communities in which they are sited and are consistent with public interest. I hope that the STB will take these necessary steps to ensure that the federal preemptions contained in the ICCTA are not abused in a way that leaves solid waste transfer facilities on rail properties without any oversight or regulation from any branch or level of government. Congress clearly did not intend for the ICCTA to open the door for any and all types of facilities to be constructed by rail owners without any oversight or review whatsoever.
I would also like to request a meeting with you at your earliest convenience to discuss this matter in greater detail. Thank you for your consideration and attention to this issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any additional information regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Maurice D. Hinchey
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