Actually the issue of transload operations is well settled and it really doesn't matter if we want to call it "rampant, uncontrolled industrial development." The law is settled on that issue and anyone who thinks otherwise is simply not spending enough time reading the case law. Congress clearly intended to advance the national economic interests of the country by overriding local interests who believe it is more important to stop industrial development, rampant, uncontrolled or otherwise. In the Upton case the issue of whether transferring bulk wood pellets into bags to facilitate transport via dry van trailers is unsettled. However, even if the STB rules that the bagging operation is not preempted by the ICCTA, it really doesn't matter because all that will happen is that the wood pellets will be transloaded in bulk form into pneumatic tractor trailer trucks that will then transport them to a bagging facility. Accordingly the only thing that might change is the type of trailer truck rolling through town. The trains will not stop rolling. This is why if anyone is actually serious about stopping the transload, if anyone truly believes that transload operations degrade the quality of life of the communities in which they are located, the ICCTA needs to be changed. I'm sure that Senator Warren is anxiously waiting to receive the calls of everyone who would put their own local interests ahead of our collective national economic interests that are advanced when more freight moves via rail than via truck. This is why the ASLRRA is getting involved. As the trade group for America's short line and regional railroads, they understand how to speak to the national economic and environmental benefits that are created by transload operations. This is why Congress listened and created the ICCTA and this is why President Clinton signed it into law in 1995. View Comment

Respectfully, it is important that we all keep a few facts clear. The Federal law that is at issue here is the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA). The applicable regulations are found at 49 USC 10501(b). As stated in case of CSX Transportation v. Georgia Pub. Serv. Commision 994 F. Supp. 1573, 1581 (N.D. GA 1996), "it is difficult to imagine a broader statement of Congress' intent to preempt state regulatory authority over railroad operations" than is contained in Section 10501(b). Also, the Surface Transportation Board has previously ruled that "zoning ordinances are preempted as to facilities that are an integral part of a railroad's interstate operations." Accordingly it is understandable why the G&U believes that local zoning laws do not apply to its transload operations. As I see it, the only way that railroad transload operations will be curtailed is by a change to the ICCTA and that means that our representative in Congress and our Senators need to support a change. Has anyone noticed how quiet Senator Warren has been on this issue? View Comment

The ASLRRA is a railroad industry lobbying and trade group. Among its local Massachusetts members are Providence & Worcester Railroad Company, Pioneer Valley Railroad Company, Pinsly Railroad Company, Massachusetts Central Railroad Company and New England Central Railroad Company. Nearly every short line and regional railroad is a member and as such its members geographically impact a significant number of states and congressional districts. The letter filed with the STB indicates that the Short Line and Regional Rail industry is starting to advocate on Grafton & Upton Railroad's behalf because they view the attack on the Grafton & Upton to be an attack on the nation's railroads. All the best, Red. View Comment

Folks, let's tone down the chest thumbing rhetoric here. The fact of the matter is that the Town of Grafton is not likely to prevail here. It is what it is because our Congressmen and Senators voted to approve the Interstate Commerce Act. If we're going to be angry at anyone, it's our Congressional representatives. Not only are the facts against us, but we also need to recognize that we do not enforce our zoning regulations fairly and evenly. Tufts University routinely violates the Ground Water Overlay Protection district by storing sand and salt and trucks at a depot on Cornfield Lane and no one does anything. In my view our best hope for the safety of our community is to seek the railroad's cooperation with safety, security and hours of operation limits. If our TA didn't get that, he has let us down (again!). All the best, Red. View Comment

Jen, Railroads are permitted by federal law to subcontract transload activities. Thus it is not relevant that the subcontractor that G&U intends to hire is a separate business or not. As long as the transload activities are conducted on behalf of a railroad company, they qualify as railroad activities regardless of whether the activities are performed by railroad personnel or not. I hope this helps you to understand this issue better and I hope that we have not wasted the town's money on incompetent legal representation. All the best, Red. View Comment

I regret to inform my fellow townspeople that storage tanks are a necessary and routine component of interstate commerce, especially when movements involve railroads. This is due to the need to alleviate railcar bunching that normally and naturally occurs during a rail movement. Railroads are not conveyor belts. Cars do not all move at the same rate and accordingly they sometimes arrive in bunches. A shipper may release a single car each day five days a week but they may arrive in a cluster of 3 or 4 or 5 or more. Variations in transit occur because of holidays, mechanical breakdowns, weather and many other reasons. Tank cars in North America are not owned by the railroad companies. Tank cars are the private property of leasing companies that lease these assets to shippers and to a variety of companies. This is relevant because the tank car owners do not always want their cars to serve as storage facilities at destinations because they are needed to filled again at the origin to travel elsewhere and to make money. Storage tanks at destinations such as those proposed to be installed at the Grafton & Upton Railroad serve an important role in interstate commerce by permitting clusters of rail cars to be unloaded quickly such to permit their movement back to the origin point to permit commerce to continue. This also results in the need for fewer railcars because they are cycling back more frequently. Fewer railcars means less capital costs for propane shippers which in turn helps to keep the retail price for propane low. The argument by the Town's attorney that storage facilities are not a component of interstate commerce is simply without merit as it fails to appreciate how railroads operate in North America. It's an indication that town has hired the wrong lawyer and that we are wasting the taxpayer's money with the wrong law firm. My best to you all - Red. View Comment