ACC, shippers groups support STB bill

Shippers organizations penned a letter to the Senate in support of an STB realignment.    The American Chemistry Council, the Agriculture Retailers Association and 36 other shippers groups have put their support behind the Senate’s Surface Transportation Board realignment bill.
   The group has written an open letter to members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to argue that a reorganization of the STB would bring about a more “efficient and equitable” organization. The bill would also allow shippers to bring complaints against railroads more easily, the parties said.
   “The legislation would streamline rate-case procedures; create a meaningful alternative dispute resolution process; and require an analysis of the rules under which the agency operates,” they wrote. “Other commonsense improvements include allowing the Board members to discuss agency matters with each other, launch their own investigations, and create timelines for cases.”