2007 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit
9-4-2007 

# NY S u squeh ann a v

. Ja ckson P r e c e de nt i al or N on-P r e c e de nt i al : P r e c e de nt i al D ocke t N o . 07-1675

F o llow thi s and a dd it ion al work s at : http://d i git alc ommon s .l a w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2007

Thi s de c i sion i s br ou ght t o you for f r e e and ope n a c c e s s b y the O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit at V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

w Di git al Reposit ory

. It h as be e n a c c ept e d for inclusion in 2007 D e c i sion s b y an authori z e d a dmini s tr at or of V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

w Di git al Reposit ory

. F or mor e inform at ion, p le as e c ont a ct Be n j amin . C arl s on@l a

w . vi ll anova . e du
. Re c omme nde d C it at ion

" NY S us queh ann a v

. J a ck s on" (2007). 2007 D e cisio n s . P ape r 355. http://d i git alc ommon s .l a

w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2007/355P RE CE DE NT I AL UN I TED STATES CO UR T OF A PP EALS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT

N o. 07- 1675

NEW Y ORK SUS QUEHAN NA A ND W ES TE RN

RA I L WAY COR P OR AT I ON,

Pl ai nt i ff/ Four th Par tyD efe ndant

v. L ISA P
. JA C K S O N , i n h er offi ci al capac i tyas C om m i s s i onerof the N ew J er s eyD epart m entof

E n v iro n m e n tal P ro tec tio n ; NE W J E RS E Y M E ADOWL ANDS CO M M I S S I ON; R O B E R T R
. C E B E R I O , i n hi s offi ci al capa ci tyas E xecut i ve

D i r ect orof the N ew J er s eyM eadow l ands C om m i s s i on; J A M E S A N Z E V I N O , i n hi s offi ci al capa ci tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the M eadow l ands C om m i s s i on; M IC H A E L J. G O N N E L L I, i n h i s offici al capac i tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the N ew J er s eyM eadow l ands C om m i s s i on; L E O N A R D R
. K A ISE R , i n h i s offici al capac i tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the N ew J er s eyM eadow l ands C om m i s s i on; M I A M
. M A C R I , i n hercapa ci tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the

N ew J er s eyM eadow l ands C om m i s s i on; E L E A N O R E N ISS L E Y , i n h er offi ci al capac i tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the N ew J er s eyM eadow l ands2 C om m i s s i on; C H A R L E S A
. R I C H M A N , i n hi s offi ci al capa ci tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the N ew J er s eyM eadow l ands C o m m issi o n ; A R L E N E W A L T H E R , in h er offi ci al capa ci tyas a C om m i s s i onerof the N ew J er s ey

M eadow l ands C om m i s s i on,

A p p e llan ts D efen dan t s/ C ou nter cl ai m ants / T hi r d Par tyPl ai nt i ffs

v. CA RD E L L A T RU CK I NG C O. , I NC
. ; CR OS S RO ADS RE CY CL I NG, I NC
. ; HUDS ON- NAT I ONAL , L L C; M HF

L O G IS T IC A L S O L U T IO N S , IN C .; M IL L E N IU M R E S O U R C E R E C O V E R Y , L T D .; O N T R A C K L O A D IN G C O M P A N Y , IN C .; P R E C IS E C O N S T R U C T IO N C O N T R A C T IN G , IN C .; RA I L
- T E CH , L L C. ; S CO T T E XC AVAT I NG, L L C; S L ANE RA I L TRA NSPORT, LLC; SUSQU EHA NN A B ULK S Y S T E M S ; X -P R E S S R A IL T R A N S F E R , L L C d /b /a 9 4 th

S tr e e tRa i l Tr a n s f

e r , LL C, T h ird P a rtyD e f

e n d a n ts

v. S L A N E R A IL T R A N S P O R T , IN C .,

Four th Par tyPl ai nt i ffH onor abl e N or m a L. Shapi r o, Seni orD i s tr i ctJ udge for * the East ern D i s tr i ctof Penns y l vani a, s i t t i ng bydes i gnat i on. 3 A p p ea l from the U n it ed S tat es D istri ct C o u rt forthe D i s tr i ctof N ew J er s ey ( D
. C
. C i vi l A ct i on N o. 05- cv- 04010) D i s tr i ctJ udge: H onor abl e K athar i ne S. H ay den

A r gued J ul y10, 2007 B efore: A M B R O and H A R D IM A N , C i rcui tJudg es,

SH A PI R O , D i s tr i ctJ udge

* (O p inion fil ed S ep tem b er 4 , 2 0 0 7 )
StuartR abner A t t orneyG ener al of N ew J er s ey N ancyK apl en A s s i s t antA t t orneyG ener al K evi n P. A uerbache r( A r gued) D eputyA t t orneyG ener al Ju n g W . K im D eputyA t t orneyG ener al R
. J
. H ughes J us t i ce Com pl ex 25 M arketSt r eet , P. O
. B ox 093 T r ent on, N J 08625- 00934 C o u n se l f

o r A p p e llan ts G
. Paul M oat es , E s qui r e ( A r gued) P au l A
. H em m ersb au g h , E sq u ir e M atth ew J. W arren , E sq u ir e Si d l e yAus t i n LLP 1 5 0 1 K
. S tr e e t , N
. W. W as hi ngt on, D C 20005 C ouns el forA ppel l ee N Y Susque hanna a nd W es t ern R ai l w ayC orp. J ohn M
. Scagnel l i , E s qui r e ( A r gued) K athlee n J. D ev li n , E sq u ir e Sc a r i n c i & Hol l e n b e c k , LLC 1100 V al l eyB r ook A venue, P. O
. B ox 790 L yndhur s t , N J 07071- 0790 C ouns el forA ppel l ee T hi r d- Par tyD efe ndant M H F L ogi s t i cal Sol ut i ons , I nc. C art erH
. St r i ckl and, J r . , E s qui r e ( A r gued) R u tg e rs E n v iro n m e n tal L a w C lin ic 123 W as hi ngt on St r eet N ew ark, N J 07102- 3094 C ouns el forA m i cus C ur i ae A ppel l ant R ar i t an B aykeepe r , I nc. , H acke ns ack Ri verkeepe r , I nc. and Pi nel ands Pr es ervat i on A l l i ance5 H aro ld L
. S eg all , E sq u ir e Be v e r i d g e & D i a mo n d , P
. C. 1350 I St r eetN
. W
. , Sui t e 700 W as hi ngt on, D C 209995- 3311 S teph en M
. R ichm o n d , E sq u ir e M arc J. G o ldstein, E sq u ir e Be v e r i d g e & D i a mo n d , P
. C. 45 W i l l i am S tr eet , Sui t e 120 W el l es l ey , M A 02481 C ouns el forA m i cus C ur i ae A ppel l ant N at i onal Sol i d W as t es M anage m entA s s oci at i on S u san S h ink m an , E sq u ir e R icha rd P
. M athe r, S r. , E sq u ir e S u san M
. S eigh m an , E sq u ir e C om m onw eal th of Penns y l vani a, D epart m entof Envi r onm ent al Pr ot ect i on R ache l C ar s on St at e O ffi ce Bui l di ng P. O
. B ox 8464 H arr i s bur g, PA 17105- 8464 C ouns el forA m i ci C ur i ae A ppel l ant C om m onw eal th of Penns y l vani a, C om m onw eal th of M as s achus ett s , St at e of N ew Y or k, St at e of M ai ne, and St at e of Col or ado C h ri sti n e D
. P etruz ze ll , E sq u ir e W i l ent z, G ol dm an & Spi t zer 90 W oodbr i dge C ent erD r i ve6 P. O
. B ox 10, Sui t900 W oodbr i dge, N J 07095 C ouns el forA ppel l ees O nT r ack Loadi ng C o. , C ar del l a Truc ki ng C o.

OPI NI ON O F THE COURT
A M B R O , C i r cui tJ udge S h i p p i n g s o l i d wa s t e t o M i d we s t e rn l a n d f i l l s h a s b e c o me b ig b u sine ss— p arti cu larl yin p lac e s like N ew Jerse yw h ere c a p a c i tya ti n - s t a t e l a n d f i l l s i s s c a r c e . Ra i l r o a d s a r e p r i me benef i ci ar i es of the i ncr eas ed demand forthe m eans of s hi ppi ng w a ste a c ro ss th e c o u n try . M a n y r a ilro a d s a c c o m m o d a te th is demand bybui l di ng fac i l i t i es w i thi n thei rr i ght s - of- w ayforthe s t or age and l oadi ng of w as t e, w hi ch oft en i s br ought to t he l oading faci l i tybytruck. A s one mi ghti m agi ne, tr ans ferr i ng s ol i d w as t e fr om truck t o r ai l cari s notthe cl eane s tof b u sin e ss e s, a n d so th e S tate o f N e w Je rse yh a s trie d to re g u late i t
. R ai l r oadi ng, how ever , i s hi s t or i cal l ythe su bj ectof fe der al r egul at i on, s o anys t at e r egul at i on aff ect i ng i t r ai s es the ques t i on of pr eempt i on. B eca us e w e conc l ude thatthe D i s tr i ctC ourt ’s fa ctfind ing d o es n o t su p p o rt it s co n clus ion that all o f th e S tat e’s e n v i r o n me n t a l r e g u l a t i o n s a ti s s u e a r e p r e e mp t e d h e r e , we r e m a n d f o rc o n s i d e r a t i o n o f

e a c h r e g u l a t i o n i n d i v i d u a l l y.“Tra ns l oadi ng” i s a t erm of art i n the bul k tr ans por t at i on 1 i ndus tr y . I tm eans “[t ] r ans ferr i ng bul k s hi pm ent s fr om the vehi cl e/ co n ta i nerof one mode t o thatof anotherata t erm i nal i nt erchange poi nt
. ” U
. S. D ep’ tof Tra ns p. , Fed. H i ghw ay A d m in ., F re ig h t P r o f ’l D e v . P ro g ., F re ig h t G lo ss a ry , av a ilab le at http://op s. fh w a.do t.go v /freigh t/ F P D /glossa ry/i n d ex . h tm
. In the cont extof thi s cas e, i tr efe r s t o tr ans ferr i ng s ol i d w as t e fr om trucks ( w hi ch ca r r i ed i tfr om i t s poi nt of ori gi n) t o Susque hanna rail ca rs (fo r ca rri ag e to lan d fil ls)
. 7 I . F act s and P roce dural H i s t ory In b u sine ss sinc e the m id- 1 9 th ce n tury , the N ew Y o rk Susque han n a a n d W e s t e r n Ra i l way Cor p o r a t i on ( “Sus quehanna ”) oper at es 400 tr ack- m i l es in N ew Y or k, N ew J ersey , and Penns y l vani a. T hi s di s put e ce nt er s on act i vi t i es at fi ve o f i t s N ew Jer seysol i d w ast e t ransl oad i ng faci l i t i es. 1 Fourof the fa ci l i t i es ati s s ue dea l tpr i m ar i l yor excl us i vel yi n s ol i d w as t e gene r at ed atcons truct i on and dem oli t i on si t es ( “C & D w ast e”). S usqu ehan n a b uil tthese fac i l i t i es i t sel f and e i therl eas ed orow ned the l and. A teac h fac i l i ty , Susque hanna s ol d m os tof i t s sh ippi ng capa ci tyt o a pr i m arycust o m er. T hes e pr i m arycus t om er s , know n as
“ sh ip p e rs,” a c ted a s m id d lem e n b e tw e e n th e g e n e ra to rs o f w a ste and the rai lr o ad
. Fora fe e, theyt ook t i t l e t o C & D w as t e fr om the oper at or s of the s i t es thatgener at ed i t and haul ed i tbytruck to S u sq u e h a n n a ’s C & D tra n slo a d in g f a c ili ties
. T h e y th e n p a idSu s q u e h a n n a n o t e s th a tth e f a c i l i t i e s a r e n o w m uch 2 cl eane rthan theyw er e w h en theyopened. G i ven the ques t i on pr es ent ed ( t o w hat ext ent the St at e m ay r egul at e th e faci l i t i es u n d er f ed era l r ail roa d law ), w e b eli ev e tha t Su sq u eh an n a’s vol unt aryeff

or t s t o cl ean up the f ac il i t i es , w hi l e perhaps l audabl e, ar e notr el evantt o ourdi s pos i t i on of the ca s e. 8 S u sq u e h a n n a to lo a d th e w a ste o n to ra il ca rs a n d sh ip it t o o u to f-state lan d fil ls ( w h ich th ey p aid t o take fin al t it le t o the w aste). B eca us e the sh ipp er s ’ val ue adde d w as thei rabi l i tyt o m ove w as t e ef

fi ci ent l yfr om C & D s i t es t o l andfi l l s , theyus ed guar ant eed- capa ci tycontr act s w i th Susque hanna t o ens ur e that theycoul d do so. R atherthan oper at i ng the tr ans l oadi ng fac i l i t i es i t s el f, Susque hanna hi r ed a l oadi ng companyt o unl oad th e tru c k s b rin g in g in th e w a ste , o v e rse e its sto ra g e , a n d lo a d it o n to ra il c a rs . T he fi fth fac i l i tydeal tonl yi n co n t ami nat ed s oi l , w hi ch w as s t or ed i n s eal ed cont ai ner s and em pt i ed di r ect l yi nt o s eal ed r ai l car s . T he l oadi ng agentatthatfac i l i ty w as a Sus quehanna su b sid iar y , an d th e sh ip p e r h a d a n e x c lu siv e c o n tra c t w ith S u sq u eh an n a. B ec au se th e f ac il ityca tered to o n lyo n e c u stom er, th a tc u s t o m e rc o n tr o l l e d a c c e s s t o th e f a c i l i ty. A t l east i nit i al l y , the tr ansl oad i ng faci l i t i es w ere a m ess. 2 N ea rby reside n ts co m p lai n ed that their h o u ses an d y a rd s w e re cover ed i n dus tand gr i m e, the noi s e w as exce s s i ve, and the w as t ew at erand st or m w at errunoffs w er e di r ty . O f equa l ( i f not9 m o re ) c o n c e rn to sta te o f f icia ls w a s tha t th e f

a c ili ties p o se d , in the off i ci al s ’ j udgm ent , pot ent i al l ydea dl yfi r e haz ar ds
. T he pol l ut i on and i t s per cei ved dange rcaus ed a publ i c out cry , and N ew J er s eyoffi ci al s r espo n d ed bypr om ul gat i ng a s er i es of heal th, s afe ty , and envi r onm ent al rul es thathave c om e t o be k n o w n a s th e “ 2 D re g u la tio n s ”
. See N
. J
. A
. C
. § 7: 26- 2D
. 1. For tr ans l oadi ng fac i l i t i es that deal onl y i n cont ai ner i zed so lid w a ste , the 2 D re g u latio n s re q u ire th a t:

• the r ai l carri erpr ovi de the St at e w i th a narr at i ve fr om an offi cer of t he ra i l carr i er des cr i bi ng the fa ci l i tyoper at i ons and cert i fy i ng thatcont ai ner s w il l notbe opened a nd thatempl oy ees , the publ i c or th e e n v iro n m e n t w ill n o t b e e x p o se d to so lid w a s te e x c e p t as a llo w e d in a c c o r d a n c e wi th s t a t e l a w;

• n o n p u tre sc ib le [ n o t d e c a y in g ] so lid w a ste not r emai n at the r ai l fac i l i tyform or e than 1 0 d a y s, p u tre sc ib le [ d e c a y in g ] so lid w a ste fornotm or e than 72 hour s , and nonh az ard o u s li qui d w as t e i n s eal ed co n tai n ers no tm ore than 18 0 d ay s;

• s ol i d w as t e r ece i ved, s t or ed ortr ans ferr ed atthe r ai l fac i l i tybe cont ai ned i n s eal ed10 cont ai ner s thatdo notl eak a nyl i qui ds or s ol i d m at er i al s and ar e not opened forany p u r p o s e a t th e f

a c ili ty , ex c e p t th a t a cont ai ner hol di ng l i qui d w as t e maybe opened br i efl yforthe purpos e of s ampl i ng th e liq u id p ro v id e d th e c o n tain e r is i m m edi at el yr es eal ed;

• the oper at i on not r es ul t i n the mi gr at i on of o do rs ou t si de the con fi nes of the ra il c a r r i e r ’ s p r o p e r ty;

• al l s ol i d w as t e cont ai ner s s t aged ors t or ed at th e faci l i tybe s ecur ed atal l t i m es i n a m ann er that preven t s unau tho ri zed ac cess t o the con t ai ners and thei r cont ents ;

• a n a d e q u a te w a ter su p p lya n d a d e q u a te fi r e- fi ght i ng equi pm entbe mai nt ai ned or be r eadi l yavai l abl e t o ext i ngui s h anyand al l types of

fi res ;

• s ol i d w as t e vehi cl es notbe queue d or s t a g e d o n a n y p u b l i c r o a d w a y;

• th e q u e u in g a n d sta g in g o f so lid w a ste vehi cl es be conduc t ed s o as t o pr event tr aff i c backups and r el at ed tr aff i c haz ar ds11 o n a c c e s s r o a d s s e r v i c i n g th e f a c i l i ty;

• fac i l i t i es and al l appurt enanc es , otherthan tho se ow ned or operat ed b yrai l carr i ers , i ncl udi ng vehi cl es w hi l e on- sit e, be pos i ti o n ed and buffer ed i n s uch a manner th ats ound l evel s gener at ed bythe oper at i on notexce ed l i m i t s est abl i s hed pu rs uan tt o n ois e con trol rul es;

• on l ysol i d w ast e veh i cl es properly re g iste re d a n d d is p layi n g th e a p p ro p ria te r egi s tr at i on num berand s ol i d w as t e dec al b e a d m i t t e d a tth e f

a c i l i ty;

• the St at e’ s des i gnat ed r epr es ent at i ves and i ns pect or s be admi t t ed t o i ns pectany b u ild in g , o r a n yo th e r p o rtio n o f th e ra il fac i l i ty , atanyt i m e;

• a n yre lea se o r d isc h a rg e o f a n y so lid w a ste that w oul d harm hum an hea l th and the e n v iro n m e n t at th e f

a c ili ty b e im m e d iate ly re p o rte d b yth e f

a c ili tyo p e ra to r o r its des i gnee t o the St at e;

• an on- s i t e emer gencycoor di nat o r be d e sig n a ted w h o w ill b e a v a ilab le d u rin g a llB e c a u se m u c h o f th e lan g u a g e in th e re g u latio n s is 3 t echni cal and unnec es s aryforou rpurpos es , w e have p a r a p h r a s e d th e m r a th e rth a n q u o t i n g th e m d i r e c t l y. “Ti ppi ng” r efe r s t o the pr oces s of unl oadi ng w as t e fr om 4 a truck i nt o a s t or age f

aci l i ty . T h e “ti p pi ng fl oor ” i s the pl ace w her e the w as t e i s pl ace d aft eri ti s unl oaded f r om a tru ck and b e f o re it is l o a d e d o n to a ra il c a r. C f

. LaF l eurv. W

hi tm an , 300 F
. 3 d 2 5 6 , 2 5 9

– 6 0 (2d C ir
. 2 0 0 2 ). 12 hour s of oper at i on forthe purpo se of han dli ng em ergencysi tuati on s, such as, butnotl i m i t ed t o, s p i l l s , di s char ges or r el eas es of sol i d w as t es atthe fa ci l i ty ; and

• th e f

a c ili tym a in tain d a ilyre c o rd s o f w a ste and s ubm i tquart er l yr eport s w i thi n 20 day s o f the end of eac h cal endarquart er sum m ari zi ng w ast e recei pts
. See ge ner al l

y N
. J. A
. C
. § 7 :26 -2D
. 1 (c). 3 F o r f a c ili ties th a t d e a l in w a ste th a t is n o t co n f in e d to se a led c o n tain e rs, th e re g u latio n s p ro v id e th a t:

• al l fac i li typr oces s i ng, t i ppi ng, s or t i ng, 4 l oadi ng, s t orag e and c om pact i on of m at er i al s ( thati s , s ol i d w as t e and mi xtur es of soli d w ast e and recy cl able m at eri al s)13 occurw i thi n the conf

i n es of an e ncl os ed b u ild in g th a t co m p li e s w ith a ll r equi r ement s of the U ni form C ons truct i on C ode;

• the fa cil i tyhave c oncr et e orequi val ent t i ppi ng fl oor s orr amps t o ens ur e pr oper cont ai n me ntand cha nnel i ng of w as t ew at er t o s ani t arys ew erconnec t i o n s orhol di ng tanks and be c ons truct ed t o w i ths t and h e a v yv e h icle u sa g e , in c o m p lian c e w ith appl i cabl e rul es r egar di ng the di s char ge of w ast ew at er and t he u se of h oldi ng t ank s;

• th e faci l i tyhav e a sy st em that col l ect s, s t or es , and pr o p e r l y d i s p os es of w as t ew at ergener at ed dur i ng nor m al oper at i ons , i ncl u d ing w as h- out and cl eaning o f equi pm ent, trucks, and fl oo rs , i n compl i ance w i th the appl i cabl e rul es r egar di ng w as t ew at erand s t or m w at er m a n a g e m e n t;

• th e o p e ra to r c lea n e a c h a re a w h e re w a ste has been de pos i t ed ors t or ed w i thi n eac h 24- hourper i od;

• no w as t e be s t or ed overni ghtw i thout14 ef fe ctiv e treatm en t t o p rev en t od o rs as s oci at ed w i th putr efa ct i on;

• the fa ci l i typr opertys urr oundi ng the ac tual w as t e managementar ea be ma i n t a i ned fr ee of l i t t er , debr i s , and acc um ul at i ons of unpr oces s ed w as t e, pr oces s r es i dual s , and eff l uent s , and met hods ( s uch as fenc i ng) of ef fe cti v elyco n tr o ll ing w in d b low n p ap ers and otherl i ghtw ei ghtm at er i al s be i m pl ement ed;

• m ethods of effec t i vel y contr ol l i ng dus tbe i m pl ement ed i n or dert o pr eventm i gr at i on out s i de the encl os ed bui l di ng and off

- s i t e;

• the oper at i on not r es ul t i n the mi gr at i on of odor s out s i de the conf

i nes of the enc l os ed bui l di ng;

• a n a d e q u a te w a ter su p p ly a n d a d e q u a te fi r e- fi ght i ng equi pm entbe mai nt ai ned or be r eadi l yavai l abl e t o ext i ngui s h anyand al l types of

fi res ;

• the o perat or effect i velycon trol i nsect s, o th e r a rth ro p o d s a n d ro d e n ts a t th e f a c ili ty bym eans of a pr ogr am i m pl ement ed byan15 a p p lica to r o f

p e stic id e s, c e rtifie d in acc or dance w i th the N ew J er s eyPes t i ci de C ontr ol C ode;

• the fa ci l i tyoper at e ce r t i fi ed s cal es forthe re p o rtin g re q u ire m ents for w a ste transport ed b ytrucks;

• fac i l i t i es ’ on- s i t e r oadw ay s and s t or age a re a s h a v e c o n c re te o r a sp h a lt p a v in g in thos e ar eas s ubj ectt o vehi cl e l oadi ng and un l oad i ng act i vit i es;

• th e f

a c ili tyn o t q u e u e o r sta g e so lid w a ste v e h i c l e s o n a n y p u b l i c r o a d w a y;

• th e q u e u in g a n d sta g in g o f so lid w a ste vehi cl es be conduc t ed s o as t o pr event tr aff i c bac kups and r el at ed tr aff i c haz ar ds o n a c c e s s r o a d s s e r v i c i n g th e f a c i l i ty;

• the fa ci l i tyand al l appurt enanc es be pos i t i oned and buffe r ed i n s uch a m an n er thats ound l evel s gener at ed bythe o p e ra tio n s h a ll n o t ex c e e d lim its est abli shed p ursuantt o ap pli cable nois e con trol rul es;16 • o n lyso lid w a ste v e h ic les p ro p e rly re g is te re d a n d d isp layi n g th e a p p ro p ria te r egi s tr at i on num berand s ol i d w as t e dec al be admi t t ed for loadi ng orunl oadi ng of a n y s o l i d w a s t e a tth e f

a c i l i ty;

• the fa ci l i tydes i gnat e a s ecu r e ar ea unde r the fa ci l i ty ’ s contr ol , l oca ted ata s afe d ista n c e f

ro m th e tip p in g a re a , w h e re so lid w ast e m aybe u nloaded from tho se solid w as t e vehi cl es thatar e ei therexemptfr om s t at e r egi s tr at i on r equi r ement s orw hi ch m us tbe manual l yunl oaded;

• the fac i l i ty not acc ept or i n an ym anner handl e haz ar dous w as t e orr egul at ed me d i c a l wa s t e a s d e f

i n e d b ys t a t e l a w, e x c e p t in c o m p lian c e w ith a ll ap p lica b le requi rem ents for such acti vit i es;

• nonputr es ci bl e s ol i d w as t e notr em ai n at the rai l facility for m ore than 10 day s, l i q u i d s o l i d w a s t e n o tm o r e th a n 1 8 0 d a ys in se a led c o n tain e rs, a n d p u tre sc ib le s o lid w ast e no tm ore than 72 ho urs;

• eff

ect i ve s ec u ri ty pr ocedur es be im p lem e n ted to c o n tr o l en tryto th e ra il17 faci l i ty , and exitfrom i t , atal l t i m es;

• the St at e’ s des i gnat ed r epr es ent at i ves and i ns pect or s be admi t t ed t o i ns pectany bui l di ng orotherpor t i on of a r ai l fac i l i tyat a n ytim e ;

• a n yre lea se o r d isc h a rg e o f a n y so lid w a ste atthe ra i l fac i l i tybe i m m edi at el yr eport ed b yth e f a c ili tyo p e ra to r o r its d e sig n e e to the St at e;

• an on- s i t e emer gencycoordi nat orbe d e sig n a ted w h o w ill b e a v a ilab le d u rin g a ll h o u r s of oper at i on forthe purpos e of handl i ng emer gencys i tuat i ons s uch as , but notl i m i t ed t o, s pi l l s , di s char g es, or r e l e a s e s o f

s o l i d w a s t e s a tth e f

a c i l i ty;

• the r ail carr i erm ai nt ai n dai l yr ecor ds of w as t es r ece i ved, a w as t e or i gi n/ d ispos al form foreac h l oad of s ol i d w as t e r ece i ved, and subm i tt o the St at e mont hl ys um m ar i es o f w a s t e s r e c e i v e d n o l a t e rth a n 2 0 d a ys aft erthe l as tdayof ea ch mont h. See ge ner al l

y N
. J. A
. C
. § 7 :26 -2D
. 1 (d).18 Susque hanna a s s ert ed fr om the out s etthati tdi d notneed t o compl yw i th the 2D r egul at i ons beca us e theyw er e pr eempt ed byt he I nt er s t at e C om m er ce Com m i s s i on T erm i nat i o n A ct , 49 U
. S. C
. § 10501( b)
. A ft ernegot i at i ons betw een Sus quehanna and the St at e fa i l ed, the St at e, al l egi ng m ul t i pl e vi ol at i ons of the r egul at i ons ateac h s i t e thatcont i nued for250 day s , as s es s ed a ci vi l penal tyagai ns tSusque hanna of $2. 5 m i l l i on— $2, 000 per daypers i t e. Speci fi cal l y , the St at e al l eged thatone orm or e of the si t es:

• di d not store w as t e i n a ful l yencl os ed b u il d ing co m p ly ing w ith the U n ifo rm C o n stru c tio n C o d e (a ll sites );

• di d not pr oper l y channe l w as t ew at erfr om the t i ppi ng fl oori nt o s ew ers y s t em c o n n e c tio n s (a ll sites );

• did n ot prop erl y coll ect , st ore, and dis po se of w as t ew at ergener at ed thr ough no rm al fa cil ityo p era ti o n s (all sit es);

• d id n o t p ro p e rly c o n tro l d u st m ig ra tio n (a ll sit es);

• fai l ed t o oper at e ce r t i fi ed s cal es for purpos es of r eport i ng w as t e tr ans por t ed by tru ck s (all sit es);19 • s pi l l ed haza r dous w as t e ont o tr acks and a d jo in in g a re a s ra th e r th a n k e e p in g it co n tai n ed (on e sit e);

• fa il ed to clea n w aste stora g e a re as e v ery 2 4 h o u rs (fo u r si tes);

• f a iled to k e e p p ro p e rtysu rro u n d in g w a ste m a n a g e m e n t ar e a s f

re e o f litter a n d d e b ris (fo u r si tes);

• di d notpr oper l ycontr ol odorem i s s i ons (fo u r si tes);

• di d notpr oper l ycontr ol i ns ect s and rod en ts ( fo u r si tes);

• fa il ed to p av e r o ad w ay s an d are as w h ere w aste w as lo ad ed o r un load ed (tw o sit es);

• al l ow ed part i cul at es t o be r el eas ed i nt o the atm os pher e ca us i ng ai r pol l ut i on ( one sit e);

• a llo w e d n o n p u tre sc ib le w a ste to re m a in o n -si te fo r m o re th an 1 0 d ay s (on e sit e), andTh e Di s tr i c tCo u r th a d j u r i s d i c t i o n u n d e r2 8 U. S
. C. 5 § 1331. W e have appel l at e j ur i s di ct i on under 28 U
. S. C
. § 1291. 20 • fai l ed ade quat el yt o cont rol acc es s t o the fa cil ity(on e sit e). A pp. atA a217–28. I n r es pons e t o the c i vi l penal ty , Susque hanna s ued the S t a t e i n th e f

e d e r a l D i s tr i c t C o u r t f

o r th e D i s tr i c to f

N e w J e r s e y, ask ing the C o u rtto d e c la re th at all o f th e 2 D reg u lat ion s w ere pr eempt ed b y feder al l aw and t o enj oi n N ew J er s eyfr om e n f o r c i n g th e p e n a l ty. A f

t e r th e p a r t i e s t o o k l i m i t e d d i s c o v e ry, the D i s tr i ctC our t hel d a hear i ng i n D ece m ber2005 t o as s es s the then- curr entcondi t i ons of t he faci l i t i es and t he i s s ue of f eder al pr eempt i on. T w o day s i nt o the hear i ng, aft erSusque hanna ha d cal l ed al l of i t s w i tnes s es butthe St at e had onl ybegun exami ni ng i t s fi r s t , the C our tdi s cont i nued the hea r i ng t o att end to o th e r m a tters
. O v e r th e n e x t e ig h t m o n th s, th e p a rties tried to sett le th e d ispu te. In A u g u st 20 0 6 , theyg av e u p . T h e C o u rt as ke d f o r a f i n a l r o u n d o f b r i e f

i n g a n d p r o p o s e d t o r ul e on p re e m p tio n w ith o u t co n c lu d in g th e h e a rin g . N e ith e r p a rty obj ect ed, and t he C our t hel d thatthe Ter m i nat i on A ctpr eempt ed al l of the 2D regul at i on s. T he S t at e app eal s. 5 B eca us e the D i s tr i ctC our thear d l ive t es t i m onyand res olved dis pu t ed factual i ssues on t hat basi s, w e t reatthis caseIn th e u su a l ca se , to r u le f o r o n e sid e o n leg iti m a tely 6 dis pu t ed, m at eri al factual i ss u es w i tho ut t aking t he ad verse side ’s ev iden ce w o u ld n o t be “ ac co rdin g to H o y le. ” (M o reo v er, the F eder al R ul es of C i vi l Pr ocedur e onl yal l ow j udgm entaft er part i al fi ndi ngs agai ns ta party that has been ful l yhear d on the re le v a n t is s u e . See F e d
. R
. C iv
. P
. 5 2 (c ).) B u t b e c a u se th e S tate had not i ce of the C our t ’ s i nt ent i on t o rul e w i thoutaddi t i onal tes tim o n ya n d d id n o t o b jec t o r o th e rw ise ra ise th e iss u e u n til n o w , a n y d e f

e c t is w a iv e d
. B r ennerv. Local514, U ni t ed Bhd. of C arpen t ers & Joiners , 9 2 7 F .2 d 1 2 8 3 ( 3 d C ir.1 9 9 1 ) (“ It is w ell estab li sh ed that fa il u re to raise an issue in the d istri ct co u rt c o n s titu te s w a iv e r o f

th e a rg u m e n t.” ).

21 as though i t comes t o us aft er a bench t r i al
. T hus w e r evi ew the 6 C ou r t ’ s f a c tu a l f i n d i n g s f o r c l e a r e rr o r a n d i t s c o n c l u s i o n s of l a w de novo
. Fr eder i ck L. v. D ep’ tof P ub. W el f ar e of P a. , 422 F
. 3 d 1 5 1 , 1 5 4 (3d C ir
. 2 0 0 5 ). I I . W he t he r Sus que hanna ’ s A c t i vi t i e s A r e C ov e r e d by the T erm i n ati on A ct’ s P reem p ti on C l au se I n r el evant part , the T erm i nat i on A ct pr ovi des that“[t ] he j ur i s di ct i on of the [Surface Tra ns por t at i on] B oar d over tr ans por t at i on byr ai l carr i er. . . i s excl us i ve. . . . [T]he r emedi es p ro v id e d u n d e r th is p a rt w ith re sp e c t to th e re g u latio n o f ra il tr ans por t at i on ar e excl us i ve and pr eempt the re m edi es pr ovi ded underFeder al and St at e l aw . ” 49 U
. S. C
. § 10501( b) ( i nternal par agr aph di vi s i ons om i t t ed)
. T he A ctdefi nes “tr ans por t at i on”22 as (A ) a lo c o m o tiv e , ca r, v e h icle , v e ss e l, w a r e h o u s e , w h a r f

, p i e r , d o c k , y a r d , p r o p e r ty, fac i l i ty , i ns trum ent al i ty , or equi pm ent of anyki nd r el at ed t o the movem ento f pas s enger s or p ro p e rty , o r b o th , b yra il, re g a rd les s o f o w n e rsh ip oran agr eementconce rni ng us e; and ( B ) se rv ice s re late d to th a t m o v e m e n t, in c lu d in g re c e ip t, de liv e ry , ele v a tio n , tran sf e r in tr ans i t , r efr i ger at i on, i ci ng, vent i l at i on, s t or age, handl i ng, and i nt er change of pas s enger s and p ro p e rt y [ .] 4 9 U .S .C
. § 1 0 1 0 2 (9 ). It d e f in e s “ ra il ca rrie r,” in re lev a n t p a rt, as “a pe r s on pr ovi di ng comm on carr i err ai l r oad tr ans po rt at i on f o r c o m p e n s a tio n .” 4 9 U .S .C . § 1 0 1 0 2 (5 ). T he fi r s tques t i on t o w h ich w e turn i s w hetherthe act i vi t i es ati s s ue ar e “tr ans port ati o n byr ai l carr i er , ” and thus s u b j e c tt o t h e Te r mi n a t i o n Act
. W e b e g i n wi th whe th er Susque hanna e ngages i n “tr ans por t at i on” act i vi t i es , and fol l ow u p w ith w h e th e r i t a c ts a s a “ ra il c a rr ie r.” A . W het h er S u sq u ehanna’s A ct i vi t i es are “Tra ns por t at i on”T hough both s i des r el y on B oar d deci s i ons , nei therhas 7 arg u ed that w e o w e itd ef ere n ce u n d er C hevr on U

. S. A

. , I nc. v. N a tu ra l R e s. D e

f. C o u n c il , 4 6 7 U .S
. 8 3 7 , 8 4 3

– 4 4 (19 8 4 ). B ec au se w e b e lie v e the B o ard ’s i n terpretati o n o f th e A ct’s pr eempt i on cl aus e i s corr ecti n al l r es pect s pert i nentt o thi s cas e, w e nee d notdeci de w hetherform al defe r ence i s r equi r ed. 23 I ti s und ispu te d thatoper at i ons of the fa ci l i t i es i ncl ude dr oppi ng off c ar go, l oadi ng i tont o Susque hanna tr ai ns , and s hi ppi ng i t
. T hus the fac i l i t i es engage i n the r ece i p t, storage, handl i ng, and i nt er change of r ai l car go, w hi ch the Ter m i nat i on A ctexpl i ci t l ydefi nes as “tr ans por t at i on. ” See 4 9 U .S .C . § 10 1 0 2 ( 9 ) ( B)
. Th e s e o p e r a t i o n s f i t wi th i n th e p l a i n t e xt of t he T erm i nat i on A ctpr eempt i on cl aus e. T he St at e, h o w ever , ar gues thatthe oper at i ons m us tbe
“ in teg ra lly ” o r “ c lo se ly ” re late d to p ro v id in g r a il s e rv ice to qual i fy as “tr ans por t at i on” underthe Sur fac e Tra ns por t at i on B o ard ’s pre v ail in g interpre tat ion o f th e A ct. B u t th e S tat e’s 7 p o s i t i o n s e e ms b a s e d o n a mi s r e a d i n g o f th e Bo a r d ’ s c a s e l a w. I ti s true thatthe B oar d w r ot e i n B o ro u g h o f R ive rd a le , 4 S
. T. B. 3 8 0 (1 9 9 9 ) (d e c lar a to ryo rd e r), th a t “f a c ili ties n o t in teg ra lly r el at ed t o the provi s i on of i nt er s t at e ra i l s ervi ce ar e nots ubj ect t o our j ur i s di ct i on ors ubj ectt o fede r al pr eempt i on. ” Id

. at387. B utcons i derthe ent i r e par agr aph: Fi nal l y , i ts houl d be not ed thatm anufa ctur i ng act i vi t i es and fa ci l i t i es not i nt egr al l y r el at ed t o the pr ovi s i on of i nt er s t at e ra i l s ervi ce ar e nots ubj ect24 t o ourj ur i s di cti o n ors ubj ectt o fede r al pr eempt i on. A ccor di ng t o the B or ough, [Susque hanna] has es t abl i s hed a corn pr oces s i ng p lan t. If th is f

a c ili tyis n o t in teg ra llyr e late d to pr ovi di ng tr ans por t at i on s ervi ces , b u tr ather s erves onl ya manufactur i ng orpr oduct i on p u rp o se , the n , li k e a n yn o n -ra ilro a d p ro p e rty , it w oul d be s ubj ectt o appl i cabl e s t at e and l ocal r egul at i on. O u rj ur i s di ct i on overr ai l r oad f a c ili ties , li k e th a t o f

th e f o rm e r [ In ter sta te C om m erce C om m i ssi on ], i s li m i t ed to tho se f a c ili ties th a t a re p a rt o f a ra ilro a d ’s a b ili tyto pr ovi de tr ans por t at i on s ervi ces , and eve n then the B oar d does not nece s s ar i l y h a v e di r ect i nvol vementi n the cons truct i on and mai nt enanc e o f th e s e f a c iliti e s . See G r ow ers Market i ng C o. v. P er e M ar quet t e Ry. , 2 4 8 I. C
. C
. 2 1 5 , 2 2 7 (19 4 1 ). W e can no tdeterm i ne fr om the cu rrentrecord w hetherthis f

aci l i t y is actual l

y a corn pr oces s i ng plantors om e s or tof

tr ans l oadi ng oper at i on ( f or the transf

er of corn syr up , f

or exam ple) tha t is r elat ed to tr ans

por tat i on s er vi ces . Id

. (em p h asis ad d ed ). I n other w or ds , the B oar d di s t i ngui s hed
“ m a n u f a c tu rin g ,” w h ich is n o t su f f icie n tlyre la te d to tr a n s p o rt a tio n b yra il, a n d “ tr a n s lo a d in g ,” w h ic h is
. A cce pt i ng t he fa ctual fi ndi ngs of the D i s tr i ctC our ti n our25 cas e as true, i t deal s w i th “tr ans l oadi ng. ” H ence , w hat everthe l e g a l e f f e c to f t h e Boa r d ’ s a d v e rb “ i n t e g r a l l y ” ( wh i c h we s us pecti s m i ni m al ornone) , tr an s l oadi ng qual i fi es as tr ans por t at i on. In a d d iti o n , th e C o u rt o f A p p e a ls f o r th e S e c o n d C irc u it has hel d that tr ans l oadi ng act i vi t i es fal l w i thi n the Ter m i nat i on A ct ’ s defi ni t i on of “tr ans por t at i on. ” S e e Gr e e n Mo u n ta i n R. R. C o r p . v . V t. ( G reen Mou ntain 2dC i r. ) , 404 F. 3d 638, 642 ( 2d C i r . 2005) ( “C ert ai nl y , the pl ai n l anguage [of the Term i nat i on A c t] g ra n ts th e [ S u rf

a c e ] T ra n sp o rta tio n B o a rd w id e a u th o rity overthe tr ans l oadi ng and s t or age f aci l i t i es undert aken byG r een M o u n tai n . ”). T h u s w e h o ld tha t tran sloa d ing o p era ti o n s are
“ tra n sp o rta tio n ” u n d e r th e T e rm in a tio n A c t. T he St at e cl ai m s , how ever , thatthe D i s tr i ctC our terr ed i n notr ecog ni zi ng thatSusque hanna e ngages i n w as t e s or t i ng and pr o ce ssi ng as w el l as tr ans l oadi ng ati t s fac i l i t i es . Sor t i ng and pr oces s i ng, i tar gues , ar e not “tr ans por t at i on” becaus e they do nothave the r equi s i t e nexus t o the movem entof pr opertyby r ai l
. R ather , thos e act i vi t i es can be done anyw her e and need not have a nythi ng t o do w i th the l oadi ng ors hi pm entof s ol i d w as t e. A m i cus cur i ae N at i onal Sol i d W as t es M anage m entAss oci at i on, a tra de associat i on of soli d w ast e coll ect ors and p rocess ors, a g r e e s . I te x p l a i n s th a ts e p a r a t i n g r e c y c l a b l e s f r o m o th e rC &D w ast e i s pa r tof

i t s membe r s ’ fu nc t i on a s w a s t e pr oc e s s ors. N at ’ l Sol i d W as t e M gm t
. A s s ’ n B r . at12–14. A ccor di ng t o the A ss o c iatio n , the f

o o d c h a in w o rk s a s f

o llo w s: p e o p le w ith w a ste26 paya s hi ppert o t ake t i t l e t o i t. T he s hi pperthen del i ver s the w a ste to a p ro c e ss o r w h o , fo r a f e e , se p a ra tes o u t v a lu a b le m aterial s , s uch as s cr ap met al , w ood, and appl i ance s . T he s hi p p e rs e l l s th e v a l u a b l e s t o r e c y c l i n g p l a n t s . I ta l s o e n g a g es a r a i l r o a d t o t a k e th e r e m a i n i n g w a s t e t o a l a n d f i l l , a n d i tp a ys the l andfi l l t o t ake t i t l e t o the w as t e. Shi pper s m ake moneyby gett i ng m or e forthe w as t e— fr om the i ni ti al ow nerand fr om r ecy cl i ng p lant s
— than theypayforpr oces s i ng, tr ans por t , and ul t i m at e di s pos al
. H er e, acc or di ng t o the A s s oci at i on, w e have a ra ilr o a d a c tin g a s tr a n s p o rt c o m p a n y , tr a n s lo a d e r, and pr o ces s or . B ychar gi ng a l ow combi ned tr ans l oadi ng/ s or t i ng fee (Susqu ehan na’s expert re f e rs to the tr ansl oad i ng process as a “l os s l eade r ”) , the r ai l r oad i ncr eas es demand fori t s r eal s ervi ce, w h ich is h a u lin g w a ste to lan d f ill s. B u t h e r e ’ s th e ru b : w a ste pr oces s i ng i s a hea vi l yr egul at ed i ndus try . A ccor di ng t o the A s s oci at i on, the r ai l r oad gai ns a compet i t i ve adva nt age i f i tcan s hi el d i t s pr oces s i ng act i vi t i es fr om r egul at i on bychar act er i zi ng them as “ tr ans por t at i on bya r ai l carr i er ” and thus pr ee m p ti ng b u rd e n s o m e s ta te re g u la tio n s . I d. T he D i s tr i ctC our t char act er i zed t he sor t i ng act i vi t i es at the fac i l i t i es as the de m i nim is r e mov a l o f i t e ms th a t d i d not co m p lyw ith the s h ipp er a n d land fil l’ s d ispo sal co n tr ac t. It fur therfound thatbeca us e s or t i ng and l oadi ng t ook pl ace atthe s ame t i m e, they w er e actual l y one pr oces s , th e dom i nant ch ara ct erof w hi ch w as l oadi ng. A pp. atA a38 ( D
. C t
. O p . ). T he C our tl i kened i tt o a l oaderr emovi ng a Toy ot a C amryfr om a s h ip m e n t it k n e w w a s s u p p o s e d t o b e F o r d E x p lo re rs . I d.27 D e ter m in in g h o w to re v iew th e C o u rt’s c h a ra c ter iza tio n is d if f ic u lt b e c a u s e th e lin e b e tw e e n f a c t a n d la w h e re is b lu r r y. O n one hand, Susque hanna’ s expertpl aus i bl ychar act er i zed the r emov a l o f s o me i t e ms a s a n i n c i d e n t a l a n d n o r ma l p a r t o f t he lo a d in g p ro c e s s , id

. ( quot i ng A pp. atA a1390– 9 1 ( T es t
. of W i l l i am R i nni cke) ) , and the D i s tr i ctC our t , as fa ct fi nder , w as e n title d to c re d it th a t te s tim o n y . See T. R

. v. K i ngw ood Tw p. B d. o f Educ. , 2 0 5 F. 3d 572, 577 ( 3d C i r . 2000)
. M or eover , the A ss o c iatio n ’s c h a ra c ter iza tio n o f th is k in d o f

so rtin g a s “ w a ste processi ng ” w i th val ue i nd epen den t of the tr ansl oad i ng process, w hi le p erh aps per s uas i ve, i s noti n the r ecor d. O n the other h an d , ev en ac ce p ti n g the f ac ts un d e rl y ing S u sq u eh an n a’s char act er i zat i on as t rue, w e mustappl ythos e fa ct s t o the T erm i nat i on A ct ’ s defi ni t i on of “tr ansp o rt at i on” t o deci de w h e th e r t h e yf

it. S e e E v a n s v . Un i t e d A r a b Sh i p p i n gCo

. S

. A

. G. , 4 F .3 d 2 0 7 , 2 1 3 (3 d C ir . 1 9 9 3 ) (n o tin g th a t “w h e th e r th e f a c ts m eet[a] s t atut orys t andar d i s an i s s ue of l aw ” ( ci t ati ons o m itted)). G i ven al l of the r ecor d evi dence , w e conc l ude that w hetherthe D i s tr i ctC our t ’ s char act er i zat i on of the s or t i ng pr oces s w as corr ecti s im m ateri al
. T he 2D r egul at i ons do not s peci fi cal l yr egul at e the s or t i ng/pr oces s i ng as pect ( t o w hat ever ext entther e i s one) of Susquehanna ’ s fac i l i t i es , nordoes the ci vi l penal tyor derhave a nythi ng s peci fi cal l yt o do w i th s or t i ng orpr oces s i ng as oppos ed t o s t or age a nd load ing
. T hus the ques t i on of w hether a s t at e coul d s peci fi cal l yr egul at e the sort i ng process ( apartfrom the loadi ng process) i s not before us.28 T h e re g u latio n s a n d p e n a ltya ss e ss m e n t h e re b ro a d lyre g u late s t or age a nd tr ans l oadi ng, i rr es pect i ve w hetherthe r ai l carri er a lso p ro c e ss e s w a s te . S in c e b o th sto ra g e a n d tra n slo a d in g f a ll w i thi n the def

i ni t i on of “tr ans por t at i on, ” w e nee d notcons i der w h e th e r th e in c id e n tal p ro c e ss in g a c tiv iti e s d o a s w e ll. B . W het her t he T rans l oadi ng A ct i vi t i es A re U ndert aken “by a R ai l C arri er” T h e S tate a rg u e s th a t S u sq u e h a n n a is n o t ac tin g a s a “ ra il carr i er ” w hen i t s hi ps w as t e fr om the t r ans l oadi ng fac i l i t i es for tw o r eas ons : ( 1) Susque hanna doe s notoper at e the tr ans l oadi ng fac i l i t i es i t s el f, and ( 2) it g ran t s vi r tual l yal l of i t s haul i ng c a p a c ity a t e a c h f

a c ility to o n e s h ip p e r. 1. Sus que hanna ’ s C ont r olov e r t he T ran sl oa d i n g P rocess O u r HiTech deci s i on deal tw i th w h ethertr ans l oadi ng act i vi t i es w er e per formed “bya r ai l carr i er . ” HiT ech T rans, LLCv. N

. J. , 382 F. 3d 295, 308–10 ( 3d C i r . 2004)
. I n thatcas e, w e not ed thatH i T ech, the tr ans l oader , oper at ed the tr ans l oadi ng fac i l i tyunder a l i cens e agr eement w i th C PR , the r ai l carr i erand o w n er of the l an d
. Id

. at308. H i T ech c ons truct ed and m a in ta in e d th e f

a c ility. Id

. M or eover , the l i cens e agr eement e s t a bl i s he d tha tH i T ech w a s no tCPR ’ s a ge nt , a ndCPR d is c la im e d a n ylia b ility f ro m H i T e c h ’s o p e ra tio n s . I d. C P R d id notchar ge s hi pper s a fe e forus i ng the H i T ech transl oadi ng29 fa cil ity (pre su m ab ly , the sh ipp ers pa id H i T ec h fo r th e se rvice ). I d. T hi s cas e i s di ffer entbeca us e ( 1) the r ai l carr i erow ned ( orl eas ed) the l and and bui l tthe tr ans load ing fac i l i t i es , ( 2) sh ip p e rs p a yth e ra il ca rrie r to lo a d th e ir f re ig h t, an d (3 ) th e ra il carr i erdoes notdi s cl ai m l i abi li tyforthe l oadi ng pr oces s . T he B oar d noted tha tt he HiTech situ a tio n w a s “ su b sta n tially di ffe r entfr om a si tuat i on i n w hi ch a r ai l carr i erbui l ds and ow ns a tru c k -to -ra il tra n slo a d in g f a c ili ty , an d h o ld s it o u t to th e p u b lic a s its o w n f

a c ility, b u t c h o o s e s to h a v e a c o n tr a c t o p e ra to r,” w h ich , p re su m a b ly , w o u ld q u a lifya s tra n sp o rta ti o n b yra il ca rri er . Hi Te c h Tr a n s , LL C ( Hi Te c h S TB) , 2 0 0 3 WL 2 1 9 5 2 1 3 6 , at * 5 n . 1 3 (de n y ing req u est fo r a d ec laratoryo rde r). R el y i ng on thi s l anguage , the D i s tr i ctC our tconcl uded thatour cas e i s j us tw hatthe B oar d des cr i bes : a r ai l carr i er ( S u s q u e h a n n a ) b u i l d i n g , o wn i n g , a n d a d v e r t i s i n g i t s o wn tr ans l oadi ng fac i l i t i es , w hi ch i t us es a contr actagentt o oper at e. W h ile th e D istric t C o u rt’s c o n c lu sio n th a t th is c a se is d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e f

r o m HiTech is co rrect, a f o o tno te fro m o u r Hi T ech d e c i s i o n c o mpl i c a t e s th e i s s u e . W e wr o t e th a t “[w ] e do not
. . . s ugges tthata partycan c ontr actual l ydet erm i ne i t s s t atus as a r ai l r oad ca r r i erforr egul at oryp urpos es . ” 382 F. 3d at308 n . 1 9
. T h is i s a pe rplex ing stat em en t bec au se th e c o n tr ac t bef o re us obvi ous l ypl ay s s om e r ol e i n det erm i ni ng the “natur e of [ the l oader ’ s ]
. . . r el at i ons hi p t o [the r ai l r oad]
. ” I d. T h a t is, a f

ter a ll, w h yit ex ists— to d e f

in e th e p a rties ’ re latio n sh ip . O u r p o in t in30 HiTech , though, w as that r ai l r oads and l oader s m aynotchange bycontr actw hati n p rac ti ce i s a s ubs t ant i vel ydi ffe r ent re la tio n s h ip
. H e re , S u sq u e h a n n a c o n tra c ts w ith sh ip p e rs to lo a d th e ir w aste, w h ich it th en p ay s a lo ad ing ag en t t o d o o n it s b eh alf. In HiTech , the lo a d e r c o n tra c ted w ith sh ip p e rs d ire c tly . T h e S tate ar gues thatthi s i s a di s t i nct i on w i thout a m at er i al di ffe r ence , as S u sq u e h a n n a e ss e n tiallyju st f u n n e led m o n e yf

ro m sh ip p e r to load er (o ften the e x ac t sam e am o u n t)
. T h e d iffe ren ce , h o w ev er, is that S u sq u eh an n a, byco n tr ac ti n g d ir ec tl yw ith the s h ipp er, as s um ed more l i abi l it y than the HiTech rail ca rri er. S u sq u e h a n n a c o u ld b e su e d f o r br e a c h o f

c o n tra c t (o r p o ten tially negl i gence ors om e other t or t ) i f som ethi ng w ent w r ong; the Hi Tech r ai l r oad coul d not , as i tw as nota partyt o the s hi pper s ’ and l oader s ’ agr eement s . W e r egar d thi s as a s ubs t ant i ve di ffe r ence betw een the HiTech cas e and thi s one, and ther efor e conc l ude th a t th e D is tr ic t C o u rt a p p ro p ri a te ly d is tin g u is h e d it.

2 . S u sq u eh a n n a ’s G u a ra n tee d -C a p a city C o n tra cts T he St at e al s o ar gues that Susque hanna does notqual i fy as a ra i l c a r r i e rwhe n i th a u l s f r e i g h tf r o m t h e tr a n s l o a di ng fac i l i t i es beca us e i tdoes notactas a com m on carr i er( though the S tat e c o n ce d es th at S u sq u eh an n a d o es so in o ther c o n te x ts ). T hi s is r el evantbeca us e onl ycomm on carr i er s fi tthe Te r mi n a t i o n Ac t ’ s d e f i n i t i o n o f

“ r a i l c a rr i e r . ” 4 9 U. S
. C.31 § 1 0 1 0 2 (5). T h e st atute do es no t fu rth er de fin e th e term “comm on carr i er , ” butthe gene r al defi ni t i on i s “[a ] carr i erthat i s r equi r ed byl aw t o tr ans por tpas s enger s orfr ei ght , w ithout r efus al , i f the appr oved fa r e orchar ge i s pai d. ” B L ACK ’ S L AW D I C TI ON ARY 2 0 5 (7th ed
. 1 9 9 9 ). T h e c o re o f th e S tat e’s ar gum ent i s that , beca us e Sus quehanna s el l s i n advanc e al l ( the cont ami nat ed- s oi l fac i l i ty ) or near l y al l ( the C & D fac i l i t i es ) of i t s capa cit y to one s hi pper , i toffe r s nothi ng t o the gene r al p u b lic , a s th e d e f

in itio n o f “ c o m m o n c a rr ie r” re q u ir e s . T h e c o m m o n law d if f e re n tiate s b e tw e e n “ p riv a te carr i er s ” and “ com m o n carr i er s . ” See, e. g. , Y o rk C o . v. C e n t. R. R. , 7 0 U
. S
. 1 0 7 , 1 1 2 (18 6 5 ) (ho lding that co m m o n ca rri ers m a ylim it th e irlia b ility b yu n d e rt a k in g p ri v a t e c a rr ia g e ). W e have he l d t hat [t ] he di s t i nct i ve char act er i s t i c of a comm on c a rrie r is th a t h e u n d e rta k e s to c a rry f o r a ll p e o p le i n d i f f e r e nt l y , a n d h e n c e i s r e g a r d e d i n s o me r es pect s as a publ i c s ervant
. T he domi nantand contr ol l i ng fac t ori n det erm i ni ng the st atus of one a s a c o m m o n c a rrie r i s h is pu b lic p ro f e ss io n a s to the s ervi ce of

fer ed orper form ed. Kel l y v. G en. E l ec. C o. , 1 1 0 F
. S u p p . 4 , 6 (E .D . P a .), af f’ d and adopt ed as ci r cui tpr ece dent , 2 0 4 F
. 2 d 6 9 2 , 6 9 2 (3d C ir
. 1 9 5 3 ). A pr i vat e carri er , on the otherhand, offe r s s ervi ces t o l i m i t ed cus tom ers underl i m i t ed ci r cumst ance s and as s um es no32 o b lig a t i o n t o s e rv e th e p u b lic a t la rg e . Lone StarSt eel C o. v. McG ee , 380 F. 2d 640, 645 ( 5th C i r . 1967) ( ci t i ng W a r d T r a n s p ., Inc

. v. P u b

. U

n ti ls. C o m m ’n , 3 7 6 P
. 2 d 1 6 6 , 1 6 9 (C o lo. 19 6 2 )). Sus q u e h a n n a was c e r t i f i e d b yth e I n t e r s t a t e Commer ce C om m i s s i on as a comm on carr i erdec ad es ago, and that cert i fi cat i on i s curr ent
. B ut , as then- C i r cui t J udge W arr en B ur gerno ted, “a c om m on carr i erm ayi n s om e ci r cumst ance s oper at e as a pr i vat e ca rr i er . ” O verse as N at ’ lA i r w ays , I

nc. v. C i vi lA er onaut i cs B d. , 3 0 7 F .2 d 6 3 4 , 6 3 6 (D .C . C ir. 1 9 6 2 ); s ee al s o Y ork C o. , 7 0 U .S
. a t 1 1 2
. E v e n so , “ a c laim o f su c h p riv a te c a rria g e m u st s h o w th a t th e p riv a te a c tiv ityis d istin g u ish a b le f r o m th e p u b lic o r c o m m o n tra n sp o rta tio n b u sin e ss re g u lar ly c a rrie d o n . T h e c laim e d p riv a te c a rria g e m u st b e v iew e d in r el at i on t o and ag ainstthe bac kgr ound of the ent i r e ca rry i ng act i vi ty . ” O ver

s eas N at ’ lA i r w ays , 307 F. 2d at636. H e re , th o u g h th e re c o rd o n th is is s u e is s c a n t, a Susque hanna offi cer t es t i fi ed that i t publ i s hes i t s charg es for haul i ng w as te, A p p. atA a1216, w hi ch i ndi cat es thati thol ds its e lf o u t to th e p u b lic a s a v a ila b le to tr a n s p o r t w a s te
. C f. 49 U .S .C . § 1 1 1 0 1 (b ) (re q u irin g th a t co m m o n c a rrie rs p ro v id e th e ir rates u p o n req u est). M o reo v er, as S u sq u eh an n a p o ints ou t, there i s nothi ng i n the r ecor d ( and no appa r ental l egat i on) thati thas ever turned aw ay a pot ent i al w as t e cus t om er . T hus , i f w e fol l ow the D
. C
. C i r cui tC our tof A ppeal s ’ s comm and t o v i ew Susque hanna’ s w as t e- haul i ng oper at i o n “a g ains t th e b ac k gr ound o f th e e n tire c a rry in g a c tiv ity ,” it a p p e a rs m e re lyp a rt o f its33 o v e ra ll c o m m o n -c a rr ia g e o p e ra tio n . O ver s eas N at ’ lA i r w ays , 307 F. 2d at 636. Susque hanna hol ds i t s el f outas w i l l i ng t o haul w a ste f o r a r e a s o n a b le a n d p u b liclya v a ilab le r a te; it d o e s, in fac t , haul w as t e for m ul t i pl e cus t om er s ; and ther e i s no evi dence o f itturn ing aw aya c u stom er. M o reo v er, Su sq u eh an n a’s e x p ert t es t i fi ed ( cr edi t ed bythe D i s tr i ctC our t ) thatthe w as t e- haul i ng i ndus tr yl ends i t s el f t o arr angement s i n w h ich a m i ddl eman “sh ipp er” co n so li d ates d em an d so as to g en era te m u lt iple ca rl oads that can be t r ans por t ed t o a l andfi l l as a group. T hi s s aves th e c o st o f

c a r-s w itch in g d o w n th e lin e . A llo w in g m u lti p le sh ip p e rs to lo a d a t a sin g le tra n slo a d f a c ili tyw o u ld b e d if

f icu lt beca us e thei r w as t e w oul d have t o be st or ed s epar at el y( as they p resu m ab lyw o u ld n o t hav e c o n tr ac ts w ith th e sa m e lan d fil ls) , r equi r i ng m or e s pace than m anyfac i l i t i es can e as i l ym us t er g iven the n arro w n ess o f rail roa d ri g h ts- o f-w ay . T h u s the n o rm i s forr ai l r oads t o bui l d l ar ge cust o m ers thei row n dedi cat ed fac i l i t i es a td i f

f e r e n tp o i n t s o n th e s a me r a i l l i n e ( a n d t o l e a ve so m e c ap ac ityo p en fo r sm all er sh ipp ers). I n t he cont extof s hi ppi ng bul k w as t e, w e bel i eve the c o n c e p t o f

“ c o m m o n c a r r ier ” m u st b e f lex ib le e n o u g h to a c c o m m o d a te r e a so n a b le c o m m e rc ial p ra c tice . In d e e d , in its d ec isi o n s the B o ard m ere ly d ef ines the t erm “c o m m o n ca rri er” a s “ a p e rso n o r e n tityth a t h o ld s itse lf o u t to th e g e n e ra l p u b lic a s e n g a g e d in th e b u sin e ss o f tra n sp o rtin g p e rs o n s o r p ro p e rty fr om pl ace t o pl ace forcompensa t i on. ” A m . O r i ent E xpr es s Ry. C o. , 2 0 0 5 W L 3552968, at*3 ( S. T
. B
. D ec. 27, 2005) ( decl ar at oryor der )
. “I n det erm i n i ng w hetherther e has been a34 hol di ng out , ‘ one mustl ook t o the char act er of the s ervi ce of the partyi n r el at i on t o the publ i c. ’ ” Id

. ( quot i ng P enn. R

. R

. C o. , 347 I
. C
. C
. 536, 5 4 9 (I. C
. C
. 1974) )
. O n thi s r ecor d i tappea r s that S u sq u e h a n n a h o ld s itse lf o u t to th e p u b lic a s p ro v id in g w a ste transportservices i n the m ann er com m on i n the i nd ust ry . T his , w e b eli ev e, is su ff

ici en t t o af

firm the D istri ct C o u rt ’s d eterm ination that S u sq u eh an n a a cts as a co m m o n ca rri er. I I I . W het her t he 2D R egul at i ons F al l W i t hi n t he Scope of F ederalP ree m pt i on A . T he Scope of

t he T erm i nat i on A ct P ree m pt i on C l au se H avi n g est abl i s hed thatSusque hanna’ s s t or age a nd tra n slo a d in g a c tiv iti e s q u a lifya s “ tra n sp o r ta tio n b ya ra il carr i er ” underthe Ter m i nat i on A ct , the nextques t i on i s w hether the A ctpr eempt s the St at e’ s att empt t o r egul at e the envi r onm ent al eff

ect s of thes e ac t i vi t i es . T he Ter m i nat i on A ct sta tes th a t “th e re m e d ies p ro v id e d u n d e r th is p a rt w ith re sp e c t to the r egul at i on o f rai l tr ans por t at i on ar e exc l us i ve and pr eempt th e r e me d i e s p r o v i d e d u n d e r F e d e r a l a n d S t a t e l a w. ” 4 9 U. S
. C. § 1 0 5 0 1 (b ) (in ter n a l p a ra g ra p h d iv isio n s o m itt e d ). K e e p in g in m i nd t hata fe der al l aw does notpr eempt s t at e l aw s “w her e the act i vi tyr egul at ed [bythe s t at e i s ] m er el ya per i pher al conce rn” o f th e f e d e ra l la w , Sa n D iego B ldg

. T ra d es C o u n cil

, Mil lm en ’s U ni on, Local2020 v. G ar m on , 2 3 9 U. S
. 2 3 6 , 2 4 3 ( 1 9 5 9 ) , we m us t l ook t o the T erm i nat i on A ct ’ s “r emedi es . . . w i th r es pect35 to the re g u la tion o f ra il tr an sp o rt ati o n , ” 4 9 U
. S
. C
. § 1 0 5 0 1 (b), t o determ i ne i t s co re co ncerns. T he T erm i nati on A ctregul at es, in tera lia , r ai l carr i er s ’ r at es , t erm s of s ervi ce, acc o u n ti ng p ra c tice s, a b ili tyto m e rg e w ith o n e a n o th e r, an d a u th o rityto a c q u ir e a n d c o n s tru c t r a il lin e s . See ge ner al l y 49 U. S
. C. §§ 10101–11908. T hus i tr egul at es the ec onom i cs and fi nance s of the r ai l carr i age i ndus try
— and pr ovi des a pa nopl yof re m e d ie s w h e n ra il c a rr ie rs b re a k th e ru le s . See 4 9 U. S
. C. §§ 11701–11707. B ecause the A ct ’s subject m at t er i s l i m i t ed to d e re g u la tio n o f t h e ra ilr o a d in d u s tr y , F la. E

. C oas tRy. C o. v. C i t y of W

. P alm B each , 2 6 6 F
. 3 d 1 3 2 4 , 1 3 3 7 (11 th C ir
. 2 0 0 1 ), court s and the B oar d have r i ght l y hel d thati tdoes notpr eempt a ll s ta te re g u la tio n a f

f e c tin g tr a n s p o rt a tio n b y r a il c a rr ie r. See G re e n Mo u n ta in 2dC i r. , 4 0 4 F .3 d a t 6 4 3 ; J. P R ai l , I nc. v. N

. J. P inela n d s C o m m ’n , 40 4 F
. S up p. 2d 63 6, 65 2 n
. 31 (D
. N
. J. 2 0 0 5 ); V i l l. o f R i dgef i eld P ark v. N

. Y

. , Sus quehanna & W

. Ry. C or p. , 7 5 0 A .2 d 5 7 , 6 3 (N .J. 2 0 0 0 ); R ive rd a le , 1 9 9 9 WL 7 1 5 2 7 2 , at *5 (“[ S ]t ate o r lo ca l r eg u lat ion is pe rm issi b le w h ere it d o e s n o t i n terfere w ith interst ate rail o p era ti o n s . . . . ”). C ontr aryt o N ew J er s eyand the am i ci ’ s ar gum ent , the T e rm in a tio n A c t d o e s n o t p re e m p t o n lye x p li c it ec o n o m ic r egul at i on. R ather , i tpr eempt s all “s t at e l aw s thatm ay r eas onabl ybe s ai d t o have the eff ect of m anagi ng orgoverni ng r ai l tr an s por t at i on, w hi l e perm i t t i ng the cont i nued appl i cat i on of la w s h a v in g a m o re re m o te o r in c id e n tal e f f e c t o n ra il tr ans por t at i on. ” F la. E

. C oas t
. Ry. C o. , 2 6 6 F
. 3 d at133136 (i n terna l qu o tat ion m ark s, cit ati o n s, an d alt e ra tio n s o m itted). W hatm att er s i s the d egr ee t o w hi ch the cha l l enged r egul at i on bur dens r ai l t r ans por t at i on, notw hetheri ti s s ty l ed as
“ e c o n o m ic ” o r “ e n v ir o n m e n ta l.” Soon aft erC ongr es s enac t ed the T erm i nat i on A ct , the n e w lyc re a ted S u rf

a c e T ra n sp o rta tio n B o a rd ru led th a t, w h ile br oad, the A ct ’ s pr eempt i on cl aus e “doe s notus urp the r i ghtof s t at e and l ocal ent i t i es t o i m pos e appr opr i at e publ i c heal th and safetyregul at i on on i nter st at e rai l roads, ” so lo ng as tho se r egul at i ons do noti nt er fer e w i th orunr eas o n ab l ybur den ra ilr o a d in g . K in gC o u n ty , 1996 W L 545598, at*3–4. I n C i t i es o f A u b u r n & Ke n t

, WA , 2 S. T
. B
. 3 3 0 , 1997 W L 362017, at*6 (1 9 9 7 ) (d e c lar a to ryo rd e r), th e B o a rd e x p o u n d e d f u rth e r: [T] h e r e a r e a r e a s wi th r e s p e c tt o r a i l r oad act i vi tythatar e r eas onabl yw i thi n the l ocal author i t i es ’ j ur i s di ct i on underthe C ons t i tut ion. Forexampl e, even i n cas es w her e w e appr ove a cons truct i on or abandonment pr oj ect , a l ocal l aw pr ohi bi t i ng the ra i l r oad fr om dum pi ng exca vat ed earth i nt o l ocal w aterw ay s w oul d appea rt o be a rea so n ab le ex e rc ise o f lo ca l po li ce p o w er. Si m i l ar l y , as not ed by the Secr et ary [of T ra n sp o rta tio n ], a sta te o r lo c a l g o v e rn m e n t co u ld i s s ue ci t at i ons ors eek da m ages i f harm ful s ubs t ance s w er e di s char ged dur i n g a ra i l r oad cons truct i on or upgr adi ng pr oj ect
. A r ai l r oad that37 vi ol at ed a l ocal or di nance i nvol vi ng the dumpi ng of w as t e coul d be fi ned orpenal i zed f ordum pi ng bythe st at e o r l ocal ent i ty . T he rai l road al so coul d be r equi r ed t o bearthe cos tof di s pos i ng of th e w a ste f

ro m th e c o n stru c tio n in a w a yth a t d id notharm the hea l th orw el l bei ng of the l ocal comm u n i ty . W e k n o w of n o c o u r to ra g ency rul i ng thats uch a r equi r ement w oul d cons t i tut e an unr eas onabl e bur den on , ori nt er fer e w i th, i nt er s t at e comm er ce. T her efor e, such r equi r ement s ar e notpr eempt ed.

. . . . [ W ]h e re th e lo c a l p e rm itt in g p ro c e ss c o u ld b e u se d to f

ru stra te o r d e f

e a t an a c tiv ityth a t is regul at ed atthe Feder al l evel , the s t at e orl ocal p ro c e s s is p re e m p te d
. For the B oar d, the t ouchs t one i s w hether the s t ate regul at i on im p o s e s a n u n re a s o n a b le b u rd e n o n ra ilr o a d in g . Id

. at*5. I n s ubs eq u en tcas es , the B oar d has expl ai ned that u n ifo rm b u il d ing , p lum b ing , an d elec tr ical co d es g en era ll yare n o t p re e m p ted b e c a u se th e y d o n o t u n re a so n a b lyin ter f e re w ith ra ilr o a d o p e ra tio n s . R ive rd a le , 1999 W L 715272, at*6. O n the ot he rha nd , s ome l oc a l z on i ng or di na nc e s , l oc a l l a nd-use reg u lat ion s, an d en v ir o n m en tal p erm itti n g req u ir em en ts are38 pr eempt ed bec aus e t h ey unr eas onabl ypr event , del ay , or in te rf e re w ith a c tiv itie s p ro te c te d b yth e A c t. Id

. at*5–6. T he B oar d has emphasi zed, how ever , thateven pe des tr i an r egul at i ons l i ke bui l di ng codes m us t be appl i ed i n a mannerthat d o e s n o t d isc rim in a te a g a in st ra ilro a d o p e ra tio n s to a v o id p re e m p tio n . G r een Mo u n ta i n R. R. , 2002 W L 1058001, at*4 (S .T .B . 2 0 0 2 ) ( d e n ia l o f re q u e s t f

o r a d e c la ra to ry o rd e r)
. T h u s , a c c o rd in g to th e B o a rd , sta te r e g u latio n is p e rm iss ib le if

it p a ss e s a tw o -p a rt tes t: (1 ) i t is n o t u n re a so n a b ly bu rdensom e, and (2) i tdo es not di scr i m i nate agai nstrai l roads. S e e Ma u mee & W. Ry. C or p. , 2 0 0 4 W L 3 9 5 8 3 5 , a t* 2 ( S
. T. B. 2 0 0 4 ) (d e n y in g re q u e st f o r d e c la r a to ryo rd e r). T h is is a f a c tin ten siv e in q u iry . F o r e x a m p le, th e B o a rd h a s ru led th a t a s tate m ayt ake e as ement s overr ai l l i nes w hen the fa cts s how that d o ing so w il l no t si g n ifi ca n tl yinte rfe re w ith the ra il roa d ’s a b ility to c o n d u c t b u s in e s s . See i d. O n the otherhand, the B oar d h a s h e l d th a t e v e n c o mpe l l i n g s t a t e c o n c e rn s l i ke pr event i ng t err or i s m w i l l nots ave a l ocal reg u lat i on that im p o s e s to o h e a v ya b u rd e n . See CSX Trans p. , I nc. , 2 0 0 5 WL 5 8 4 0 2 6 , at * 8 (S .T .B . 2 0 0 5 ) (d e c lar a to ryo r d e r) (ru lin g th a t a D .C . law th a t p ro h ib ited tra n sp o rtin g h a z a rd o u s m a ter ial w ith in 2
. 2 m il es o f th e U
. S
. C ap it o l w ith o u t a pe rm it w as p ree m p ted). T he C our tof A ppeal s forthe Second Ci r cui thas endor s ed t he B oar d’ s appr oach. I n G reen M ou ntai n 2 d C i r. , it s t at ed thatw hi l e pr e- cons truct i on p erm i t t i ng pr ogr ams oft en un r e a s o n a b l y i n t e r f

e r e wi th r a i l tr a v e l , l e s s b u r d e n s o me and39 non- di s cr i m i nat oryr egul at i ons w oul d pas s m us t er . I texpl ai ned fu rth er: I tther efor e appe ar s thats t at es and t ow ns m ay exer ci s e tradi t i onal pol i ce pow er s overthe devel opm entof r ai l r oad prop erty , atl eas tt o the e x ten t th a t th e re g u latio n s p ro tec t p u b lic h e a lth and s afe ty , ar e s ett l ed and defi ned, can be obey ed w i th r eas onabl e ce r t ai nty , ent ai l no ext ended or open- ended de l ay s , and ca n be appr oved ( or r ej ect ed) w i thoutthe exercise of di s cr et i on on s ubj ect i ve ques t i ons . E le ctr i cal , pl um bi ng and fire c odes , di r ectenvi r onm ent al r egul at i ons enac t ed forthe pr ot ect i on of the publ i c hea l th and s afe ty , and other gener al l yappl i cabl e, nond isc rim i nator y regul at i on s a n d p e rm it r equi r ements w o ul d s eem t o w i t hs t and pr eempt i on. 404 F. 3d at643. W e bel i eve that th e appr oach of the B oar d and the S e c o n d C irc u it C o u rt is so u n d . In p a rticu lar , w e a g re e th a t a s t at e l aw thataff

ect s r ai l carr i age s ur vi ves pr eempt i on i f i tdoes n o t d isc rim in a te a g a in st rail c a rria g e a n d d o e s n o t u n re a so n a b ly b u rd e n ra il ca rria g e . T h e n o n d isc rim in a to ryp ro n g is part i cul ar l y u sef

u l i n det erm i ni ng w hethera s t at e i s r egul at i ng pr i nci pal l yt o di s cr i m i nat e aga i ns ta s peci fi c i ndus try . M uch ofT he G r een M ountai n C our thel d thatonl yr egul at i ons 8 that do not i nvol ve “the exer ci s e of di s cr et i on on s ubj ect i ve q u e stio n s” a re p e rm is s ib le . 4 0 4 F .3 d a t 6 4 3 . W e b e liev e th is s t at ement , t aken al one, goes t oo farbeca us e, as w e expl ai n i nfr a , so m e d iscreti o n is i n h ere n t i n ev e n th e clea rest reg u lat o ry s c h e m e s . 40 the B oar d’ s l ogi c i n fi n d ing thats t andar d bui l di ng, fi r e, and el ectr i cal codes ar e notpr eempt ed i s that , w hi l e the cos t s of c o m p lian c e m a yb e h ig h in so m e se n se , the ya re “ in c id e n tal” w hen theyar e s ubor di nat e o u tl ay s t hatal l fi r m s bui l d i nt o the c o s t o f d o in g b u s in e s s . S e e R ive rd a le , 1999 W L 715272, at*6. T h u s, f o r a sta te r e g u latio n to p a ss m u ste r, itm u st a d d re ss sta te c o n c e rn s g e n e ra lly, w ith o u t ta rg e tin g th e ra ilr o a d in d u s tr y . A s for the u nreasonab l ybu rdensom e prong , the m ost ob vious com po nen ti s that the subst ance of the r egu l at i on m ust no t b e so dr aconi an thati tpr event s the r ai l r oad fr om carry i ng outi t s bus i nes s i n a s ens i bl e fas hi on. I n addi t i on, as the G r een Mountai n C o u rt h e ld , reg u latio n s m u st b e s e tt led a n d d e f in ite e n o u g h to a v o id o p e n -e n d e d d e la y s . See 404 F. 3d at643. T he 8 ani m at i ng i dea i s t hat , w hi l e s t at es m ays etheal th, saf ety , and envi r onm ent al gr ound rul es , thos e rul es m us tbe cl earenough thatthe r ai l carr i ercan f ol l ow them and t hatthe s t at e ca nnot e a silyu se th e m a s a p re tex t f o r i n ter f e rin g w ith o r c u rta ili n g ra il s ervi ce. O n thi s poi nt , the B oar d’ s deci s i on i n C i t i es of A ub urn & K e n t is illu s tr a tiv e . See 1997 W L 362017, at *6. I n that c a se , the B o a rd f

o u n d it rele v a n t th a t th e c iti e s’ r e a l g o a l in c re a tin g a n e n v iro n m e n ta l p e rm itt in g p ro c e ss w a s to c o n stra inI n G re e n Mo u n ta in , the perm i t t i ng s cheme ati s s ue w as 9 s o open- ended thati tal l ow ed the St at e t o i m pos e s i t e- s peci fi c, b u rd e n so m e re g u latio n s a s c o n d iti o n s f o r p e rm it ap p ro v a l. T h is p ro c e ss g a v e th e S tate to o m u c h ro o m to d e lay a n d b u rd e n ra il tr a v e l. See 404 F. 3d at643. 41 (r a th e r t h a n re n d e r s a f

e ) a ra ilr o a d ’s o p e ra tio n s . Id

. I tnot ed th a t o n e o f th e p ro b lem s w ith th e p e rm itt in g p ro c e ss w a s th a t it g a v e th e c it ie s to o m u c h ro o m to g iv e e f f e c t to th e ir a n tirail roa d ing p o li cyin the g u ise o f n o n -discrim inato ry e n v ir o n m e n ta l r e g u la tio n . I d. W e d o n o t h o ld th a t lo c a l re g u latio n s m a y n o t g iv e sta te and l o ca l offi ci al s anydi s cr et i on atal l , forthatw oul d be i m pr act i cal
. St andar d bui l di ng , elec tr i cal , and fi r e code s no d o u b t g iv e lo c a l o f

f ic ia ls s o m e d is c re tio n . See, e. g. , Int’l F ir e C ode § 304. 2 ( 2000) ( “St or age of combust i bl e rubbi s h s hal l not pr oduce c ondi t i ons thatw i l l cr eat e a nui s ance or a hazar d t o the p u b lic h e a lth , sa f

e ty , o r w e lf

a re .”); id

. §§ 401. 2 & 404 ( gi vi ng lo c a l co d e o f

f icia l d isc re tio n to d e ter m in e if f ire sa f e typ lan is adequa t e)
. B ut s uch r egul at i ons m ay not ( 1) be s o open- ended as t o al l butens ur e del ayand di s agr eement , or( 2) actual l ybe u sed u n rea so n ab lyto d elay o r in terfere w ith rail ca rri ag e. In otherw or ds , s om e r egul at i ons , l i ke those ati s s ue i n the G r een Mo u n ta in l i t i gat i on, gi ve t oo m uch di s cr et i on t o s ur vi ve a f aci al chal l enge b ec au s e theyi nvi t e del ay . I n addi t i on, even a 9 regul a tio n th ati s defi nit e on i t s face m aybe ch al l eng ed asappl i ed i f unr eas onabl yenfor ced orus ed as a pr et ext t o carryout a pol i cyof del ayori nt er fer ence .42 B . A ppl i cat i on t o Susquehan na’ s A ct i vi t i es A g a in st th is b a c k d ro p , the D is tr ic t C o u rt f o u n d six pr obl ems w i th the 2D r egul at i ons . Fi r s t , i tnot ed thatpot ent i al f in e s o f u p to $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 p e r d a yp e r v io latio n w e re e x c e ss iv e to the poi ntof thr eat eni ng Susque h a n n a w i th i m m edi at e s hut dow n. W h il e this m ayb e tr u e , there ap p ea rs t o b e li tt le i n the re co rd demo n str at i ng the ( un) r eas onabl enes s of thi s amount ( and the C our tci t es nothi ng)
. N othi ng pr event s a s t at e fr om i m pos i ng a sig n if ica n t f in e o n m o n th s o f

n o n c o m p lia n c e w ith v a lid re g u la tio n s , C i t i es of

A ubur n & Kent , 1997 W L 362017, at*6, an d so o n e w o u ld ex p ec t so m e e v iden ce to su p p o rtthe C o u rt ’s fac tual fi ndi ng. M or eover , the fine i n thi s cas e i s onl y$2, 000 perday ; nothi ng i n the r ecor d i ndi cate s thati ti s unr eas onabl e. Second, the C our ts t at ed that the provi s i ons di ct at i ng the des i gn, cons truct i on, and oper at i on of the fa ci l i t ies m ade i m m edi at e compl i an ce n ear l yi m pos s i bl e. I n eff ect , they oper at ed m u ch li ke a pe r m i ts y s t em. T hi s l ogi c i s s ound: i f a s t at e i m pos es new r egul at i ons on exi s t i ng r ai l fac i l i t i es w i thout gi vi ng r eas onabl e t i m e forthem t o come i nt o compl i ance , then i tw oul d caus e a de l ay( l i kel yun w arr ant ed) i n the pr ovi s i on of r ai l s ervi ce. A gai n, how ever , the D i s tr i ctC our tdi d notconnec t it s fin d ing to an ything in the rec o rd sh o w ing that the S tat e’s demands w er e unre as onabl e or w er e i m pos ed w i thouts uffi ci ent not i ce. T hi r d and fourth, the C our tfou n d thatthe r egul at i ons43 gave the St at e t oo m uch di s cr et i on and i nvi t ed open- ended d e lays. It no ted th a t pr ovi s i ons author i ze the St at e t o penal i ze [ S u sq u e h a n n a ] if th e c o m p a n y d o e s n o t m a in tain
“ [e] f f ect i ve s ecur i typr oce dur es . . . t o contr ol entr yand exi tatal l ti m es , ” and “ a d e q u a te w at er s uppl yand a d e q u a te fi r e- fi ght i ng equi pm ent ”; or if w a ste c o n tain e rs a re n o t “ se c u re d a t a ll tim e s in a m a n n e r th a t p re v e n ts u n a u th o riz e d a c c e ss ” ; o r if dus tm i gr at es out s i de the fa ci l i t i es ; ori f the s t agi ng of w as t e vehi cl es caus es “tr aff i c bac kups and r elat ed tr af

f i c haz ar ds ” on pu bli c roadw ay s. N
. J. A
. C
. 7 :26 -2D
. 1 (c)(2)(iv), (c )(2)(v), ( c) ( 2) ( vi i ) , ( d) ( 7) , ( d) ( 9) , ( d)(22) ( emphase s ad d ed ). A pp. atA a 46. W e a g ree thatm anyof the 2D r egul at i ons appea rt o gr ants i gni fi cantdi s cr et i on. T h e S ta t e pr ot es t s that m anyof the re g u l at i ons ar e w r i t t en t o gi ve the r ai l carr i er flex ibil i tyi n det erm i ni ng how t o compl y , r atherthats ets tr i ct sta n d a rd s. T h e p ro b lem c o m e s w h e n th e g o a l to b e a c h iev e d is so su b jec tiv e th a t th e c o m p lia n c e p ro c e ss is o p e n to u n re a so n a b le d e lay. I n m a k in g th is d e ter m in a tio n , itis i m po rt an t f

o r a cour tt o hone i n on how w i de the r ange ofFor ex am p l e, i ti s pos s i bl e thata s t andar d l i ke 10 “ade quat e fi r e pr ot ect i on” has a comm on enough m eani ng i n the r el evant i ndus tr ythatthe r ange of di s cr et i on i s actual l ynarr ow a n d c o m p lia n c e is s tr a ig h tf o rw a rd
. 44 di s cr et i on r eal l yi s . W e l eave t o the D i s tr i ctC our ton r emand 10 the t as k of det erm i ni ng w hethera part i cul arr egul at i on i s t oo s u b je c tiv e . Fi fth, the C our tt ook i s s ue w i th the St at e’ s pow ert o ent er and i ns pectr ai l fac i l i t i es atany ti m e t o ens ur e compl i ance . P e rh a p s th is p o w e r is o p e n to a b u se (a n d th u s m ig h t g iv e rise to a n a s - a p p l i e d c h a lle n g e ). S e e R ive rd a le , 1999 W L 715272, at * 5 . B u t, giv e n th e S tate ’s in ter e st in e f f e c tiv e ly e n f

o r c in g its re g u lato rysc h e m e , su c h a ru le is n o t pers e unr eas onabl e, and the D i s tr i ctC o u rt d id notfi nd fac t s t o s ugges tthati ti s i n the c o n te x t o f

th is c a s e . S ixth, th e C o u rtn o ted th at th e 2 D reg u lat ion s are d isc rim in a to ryb e c a u se b yth e ir ter m s th e ya p p lyo n lyto ra il c a rrie rs. T h e S tate c o u n ter s th a t th e ya re sim ilar in k in d to r e g u la tio n s th a t a p p ly to o th e r s o lid w a s te f a c iliti e s . S e e , e. g. , N .J.A .C . § 7 :2 6 -2 .1 1 (g e n e ral o p e ra tio n a l re q u ire m e n ts f o r so lid w as t e fa ci l i t i es ) ; N
. J
. A
. C
. § 7: 26- 2B
. 5 ( addit i onal des i gn req u ir em en ts fo r tran sfe r st ati o n s an d m ate rials reco v ery fac i l i t i es ) ; N
. J
. A
. C
. § 7: 26- 2B
. 9 ( addi t i onal oper at i onal req u ir em en ts fo r tran sfe r st ati o n s an d m aterial s rec o v ery fac i l i t i es )
. A t f

ir stgl ance , the r egul at i ons do appea rt o be s i m i l ar , but i ti s di ffi cul tt o as s es s how s i m i l artheyar e w i thout45 know i ng m or e about the i ndus try . I t appea r s , how ever , thatthe 2D r egul at i ons ar e, if anythi ng, m or e r el axed than thos e that a p p lyto o th e r so lid w a ste f a c ili ties

— p ro b a b ly b e c a u se th e S tate w as tr y i ng t o s t eercl earof a pr eem pt i on pr obl em. I ndeed, perm i t t i ng requi rem ents abo un d for other sol i d w ast e facil i t i es. See, e. g. , N
. J
. A
. C
. § 7: 26- 3. 6 ( s peci fy i ng perm i t t i ng r e q u i r e me n t s f

o rn o n - r a i l s o l i d wa s t e tr a n s f e rf a c i l i t i e s )
. As thos e ar e not al l ow ed i n thi s cont ext , i t w oul d be i m pos s i bl e for the S t at e t o regulat e rai l f a ci l i t i es i n the sam e w ay . T hu s, eval uat i ng t he nondi s cr i m i nat orypr ong r equi r es compar i ng the s ubstan ce o f the s ol i d w as t e r egul at i ons thatappl yt o r ai l r oads w ith th o se th a t a p p ly to sim ilar in d u strie s th a t d e a l in so lid w a ste t o det erm i ne i f the St at e i s di s cr i m i nat i ng agai ns tr ai l carr i age. A s the r ecor d befor e us does not s how thatw as done, w e ca nnot d e ter m in e w h e th e r th e 2 D re g u latio n s a re im p e rm iss ib ly d isc rim in a to rya t th is p o in t. T he cor e concern for us i s thatthe D i s tr i ctC our tdi d not m ake i t s fi ndi ngs r egul at i on- by

- r egul at i on; r ather , i tfound that al l w er e pr eempt ed. T hi s det erm i nat i on i s , w e bel i eve, t oo b ro a d . A t lea st so m e o f th e re g u latio n s s e e m su f f icie n tlyc e rta in and i dent i cal t o thos e appl i ed t o non- r ai l fac i l i t i es . Forexampl e, one o f the r egul at i ons r equi r es thatal l s t or age a ct i vi t i es occur
“ w ith in th e c o n f

in e s o f a n e n c lo se d b u ild in g th a t co m p lies w ith a ll th e re q u ir e m e n ts o f th e U n if

o rm C o n s tru c tio n C o d e .” N
. J. A
. C
. § 7 :26 -2D
. 1 (d )( 1 ). U n d er R i verdal e and G r een Mou ntai n 2dC i r. , thi s s eems r eas onabl e, cert ai n, andW e do nothol d thatthi s r egul at i on i s perm i s s i bl e, as 11 w e l ea v e t hatques t i on forthe D i s tr i ctC our tt o r es ol ve on r emand. W e mer el ypoi nti toutas an exa m pl e of a r egul ati on th a t ap pea rs perm i s s i bl e o n it s fac e. O n r emand, the D i s tr i ct C o u rt is f

re e to c o n c lu d e o th e r w is e w ith th e b e n e f it o f a f u ll fac tual r ecor d. 46 n o n d isc rim in a to ry . W e , h o w e v e r, a re n o t in a g o o d p o sitio n to 11 anal y ze e ach i ndi vi dual r egul at i on beca us e nei therthe br i efi ng, th e D is trict C o u rt’s d e c isio n , n o r th e a p p e llate re c o rd is su f f icie n tlyd e taile d
. T h u s w e re m a n d f o r th e D istric t C o u rt to m ake a det erm i n ati o n of pr eempt i on foreac h r egul at i on i n the firstinstan ce . It m a y tu rn o u t th at m o st of the re g u lat ion s are pr ee mpt e d , b u ti twou l d b e p r e ma tu r e t o i n v a l i d a t e th o s e ( l i ke the c o n stru cti o n -co d e re q u ir em en t) that m igh t su rviv e o n a m o re d e v e lo p e d re c o rd
. A tor al ar gum ent , Su sq u ehanna obj ect ed t o thi s s or tof rem an d b yarg u in g that the S tat e d id n o t ask the D istri ct C o u rt to e x a m in e th e re g u latio n s in d iv id u a lly
. T h a t is irre lev a n t. S u s q u e h a n n a a p p r o a c h e d th e D i s tr i c tC o u r ta s a d e c l a r a t o ryj udgm ent pl ai nt i ff as ki ng the C our tt o s tr i ke dow n al l of the 2D re g u latio n s. N e w Je rse ya n sw e re d , as k in g th e C o u rt to u p h o ld al l of them. T he C our t s i ded w i th Susque hanna. N othi ng pr event s us , i n our d e n ovo rev iew o f th e D istri ct C o u rt ’s a p p lic a tio n o f

la w to f a c ts , s ee V

F B LLC v. C am

pbel lSoup C o. , 482 F. 3d 624, 632 ( 3d C i r . 2007) , fr om r ecogni zi ng thatthe l aw i n thi s ar ea adm i t s of m or e nuance t han anyof the part i es ( orthe am i ci ) ar gued and fas hi oni ng our r emand acc or di ngl y . N ordoesA s to th e c iv il p e n a lty , if it is ba se d in p a rt o r i n w h o le 12 o n p re e m p ted re g u latio n s, th e D istric t C o u rt sh o u ld e n jo in its e nfo rcem ent. If this hap pen s, N ew Jer sey m ay , subjectto r el evants t at e l aw s and re gul at i ons , as s es s a new penal tybas ed onl yon t he r egul at i ons thats ur vi ve.
47 an ything p rev en t us f

rom co n clud ing that the D istri ct C o u rt ’s fac t fi ndi ng does notappea rt o s uppor tthe br eadth of the i nj unct i on i tent er ed, and thus r emanding fo r a more det ai l ed i n q u i r y. * * * * * W e h o ld th a t th e T e rm in a tio n A c t d o e s n o t p re e m p t sta te re g u latio n if

it i s n o n d isc rim in a to rya n d n o t u n re a so n a b ly bur dens om e. B eca us e i tappea r s fr om thi s r ecor d thats om e, but notal l , of the 2D r egul at i ons m ay m eetthi s t es t , w e vac at e the D i s tr i ctC our t ’ s or derperm anent l yenj oi ni ng the St at e fr om enfor ci ng the regul at i ons , and r emand forcons i der at i on of w hethereac h r egul at i on i s pr eempt ed. 12