STB denies reconsideration of coal dust rules

摘要

Legal protection for shippers included under BNSF’s coal dust tariff will not be reviewed, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) ruled in deeming current provisions adequate. The decision ends further regulatory proceedings about the coal dust standard that BNSF applies to trains leaving the Powder River basin (PRB). Coal-fired utilities complained starting in 2009 about a requirement that BNSF added to its tariff for coal trains that requires shippers to pay for treating trains with a chemical agent to limit the dust they spread.