ILMA Compoundings December 2017 - 29

ADVERTISERS INDEX
COMPANY NAME

American Refining Group, Inc.
Ergon, Inc.

AD PAGE #

7

CONTACT

PHONE

EMAIL

Jennifer Taylor

814-368-1340

jtaylor@amref.com

601-933-3148

jim.temple@ergon.com

Inside Cover Jim Temple

The Elco Corporation

31

Dave Millen

216-749-2605

dmillin@elcocorp.com

HollyFrontier Lubricants & Specialty Products

8

Robert Plummer

484-362-0610

robert.plummer@hollyfrontier.com

Martin Lubricants

27

Jamie Wilhelm

800-725-3066

jamie.wilhelm@martinmlp.com

Philips 66 Company

5

Russell Boone

832-765-1763

russell.boone@p66.com

Royal High Performance Oils & Greases

19

Jonathan Paul

918-584-2671

jonathanp@royalmfg.com

Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC

25

Lea Ann Coreau

203-295-2145

lcoreau@vanderbiltglobalservices.com

with the freight rail industry, the RCC
has been advocating for a number of
changes. First, RCC moved the Surface
Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Act of 2015 through Congress,
which gives STB additional authority to investigate claims on issues of
national or regional significance. STB
is an independent, bipartisan adjudicatory board that provides oversight
to many common carriers, including
the railroad industry. The RCC has
gone directly to Capitol Hill and asked
Congress to urge the STB to utilize
its statutory authority to alleviate the
burdens that CSX has needlessly placed
upon the rail shipping community.
STB has engaged CSX on the issue
as a result, hosting weekly conference
calls with upper management since
July 2017 to ensure that the company
was working expeditiously to lessen
the problems. Additionally, the RCC
was able to get an oversight hearing
hosted by STB rescheduled after it
was postponed because of Hurricane
Irma. Senior-level CSX executives are
going to testify along with affected rail
shippers and other stakeholders.
The RCC is also advocating that
senators support nominees to the STB
who would ensure that CSX and other
railroads offer reliable service to their

customers to ensure timely delivery of
incoming and outgoing shipments and
who are generally understanding of the
needs of the rail shipping community.
Unfortunately, while the RCC is
comprised of an impressive crosssection of significant industry sectors,
the freight rail lobby has been pushing
back against many of the initiatives put
forth by the coalition.
As an example, a group of conservative think tanks, led by the Conservative
Enterprise Institute (CEI), wrote to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and ranking
member Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.),
urging lawmakers to approve nominees
to the STB who would reverse proposed
regulations on "reciprocal switching" of
railroads and who "will reject misguided
efforts to re-regulate our nation's freight
rail industry."
Reciprocal switching increases
competition by giving shippers access
to additional freight rail providers. For
example in practice, Railroad A picks
up a shipment from a facility that is
only serviced by that singular freight
company. Once Railroad A gets to an
interchange that is accessible by another
carrier, Railroad B, the shipper could
then request that shipment be moved
to the other railroad for a fee. Railroad

B would then deliver the product to its
final destination. The shipper pays for
all of the product movement to Railroad
A and B, but it provides an increased
level of competition to the rail shipping
community to select a different carrier.
STB issued proposed reciprocal switching regulations last July. The proposed
rules received overwhelming support
from rail customer groups and strong
opposition from the largest railroads and
the Association of American Railroads. As
noted in the CEI letter, the freight rail industry has attempted to label the practice
that increases competition among freight
railroads as "re-regulation."
There are strong opinions and powerful voices on both sides of the many
issues related to the freight rail industry.
Undoubtedly, the freight rail industry
will continue to push back against
the coalition's efforts, but the RCC
will continue to advocate for sensible
reforms that increase competition and
restore reliable, cost-effective service.
1. For more information visit:
www.freightrailreform.com.

Bryant serves as regulatory
counsel to ILMA through
Bassman, Mitchell, Alfano &
Leiter Chtd. He may be
reached at 202-386-7670 or dbryant@bmalaw.net.

29
http://www.freightrailreform.com
ILMA Compoundings December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings December 2017
