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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5082

To improve the quality of life and safety of persons living and working

near railroad tracks.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 27, 2000

Mr. ROTHMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To improve the quality of life and safety of persons living

and working near railroad tracks.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Participation

5 in Railroad Operations Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. LOCAL INPUT.

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 109 of title 49, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 10908. Local input

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—A rail carrier providing trans3 portation subject to the jurisdiction of the Board under

4 this part shall not construct, develop, or expand railroad

5 maintenance facilities, intermodal rail transfer facilities,

6 railroad sidings, railroad bridges, railroad yards, or other

7 railroad facilities unless the Board determines that the rail

8 carrier has—

9 ‘‘(1) provided local communities with appro10 priate notice of such activities;

11 ‘‘(2) held at least one public hearing in each

12 municipality which is directly affected by such activi13 ties; and

14 ‘‘(3) made good faith efforts to address con15 cerns raised in response to such notice.

16 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATE NOTICE.—Not later than 6

17 months after the date of the enactment of this section,

18 the Board shall by regulation prescribe procedures that

19 constitute appropriate notice under various foreseeable cir20 cumstances, including emergency circumstances.’’.

21 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for

22 such chapter 109 is amended by adding at the end the

23 following new item:

‘‘10908. Local input.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. PUBLIC MEETINGS.

2 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Within 6 months after the date

3 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the

4 Secretary of Transportation shall convene 6 public meet5 ings, including at least one in northern New Jersey, to

6 provide an opportunity for the participants to present

7 their views, respond to the views of others, and discuss

8 issues relating to the quality of life and safety of persons

9 who live, work, or are for any other reason near railroad

10 tracks. The goal of such meetings shall be the identifica11 tion of appropriate solutions to the quality-of-life and safe12 ty problems that are discussed. The meetings shall be held

13 in diverse geographic locations where the Secretary con14 siders the need for and benefits to be derived from such

15 meetings to be the greatest.

16 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary of Transpor17 tation shall make every effort to ensure participation at

18 such meetings by local elected officials, appropriate rep19 resentatives of the Department of Transportation, State

20 and local environmental protection agencies, local public

21 health officials, railroad management, railroad labor, rail22 road shippers, and individuals representing community in23 terests.

24 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of

25 Transportation shall, within 3 months after the comple26 tion of each round of public meetings convened pursuant
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1 to subsection (a), transmit to the Congress a report sum2 marizing the results of the public meetings, and including

3 recommendations to Congress for measures to help im4 prove the quality of life and safety of persons who live,

5 work, or are for any other reason near railroad tracks.

6 SEC. 4. PROTECTING LOCAL RESIDENTS IN RAILROAD

7 TRANSACTIONS.

8 Section 11324 of title 49, United States Code, is

9 amended by adding at the end the following new sub10 section:

11 ‘‘(g) The Board shall not approve a transaction de12 scribed in section 11323(a) unless the Board has received

13 assurances that the rail carriers who will be responsible

14 for rail operations resulting from or affected by the trans15 action have addressed adequately and will continue to ad16 dress adequately problems identified with respect to the

17 quality of life and safety of persons who live, work, or are

18 for any other reason near railroad tracks.’’.

19 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS TO REDUCE NOISE POLLUTION

20 ALONG RAILROAD LINES.

21 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Within 6 months after the date

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the En23 vironmental Protection Agency, after consultation with the

24 Secretary of Transportation, shall publish in the Federal
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1 Register proposed regulations for reducing noise pollution

2 generated from railroad operations and railroad facilities.

3 (b) PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE.—Such regula4 tions shall be prescribed to protect the public health and

5 welfare, including the health and welfare of persons who

6 live, work, or are for any other reason near railroad

7 tracks, taking into account the degree of noise reduction

8 improvements achievable through the application of the

9 best available technology and the cost of compliance.

10 (c) AUDIBLE WARNINGS.—In prescribing such regu11 lations, the Administrator shall give strong consideration

12 to section 20153 of title 49, United States Code, and shall

13 seek to ensure that public safety is not compromised.

14 (d) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Within 90 days after

15 publication of proposed regulations under subsection (a),

16 the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations. Reg17 ulations issued under this section shall be in lieu of any

18 Federal railroad-related noise regulations for locomotives

19 and rail cars. Such regulations may be revised, from time

20 to time, in accordance with this section.

21 (e) REPEAL.—Upon the issuance of final regulations

22 under subsection (d), section 17 of the Noise Control Act

23 of 1972 (42 U.S.C. 4916) is repealed.

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