United States Department of Agriculture

Office of the Secretary

Washington, D.C. 20250

An Equal Opportunity Employer

May 19, 2022

Hon. Martin Oberman Hon. Michelle Schultz

Chairman Vice Chairman

Surface Transportation Board Surface Transportation Board

Hon. Patrick Fuchs Hon. Robert Primus

Member Member

Surface Transportation Board Surface Transportation Board

Hon. Karen Hedlund

Member

Surface Transportation Board

RE: STB Docket No. EP 762, Revisions to Regulations for Expedited Relief for Service 

Emergencies

Dear Chairman Oberman, Vice Chairman Schultz, and Members Fuchs, Primus, and Hedlund:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) appreciates the Surface Transportation Board’s 

(Board) proposal to amend its emergency service regulations. As discussed in a March 30 letter 

from the Secretary to the Board and in the Deputy Secretary’s testimony in the Board’s recent 

rail service hearing, USDA is deeply concerned about ongoing rail service problems and their

detrimental effects on the agricultural industry. USDA believes the Board’s proposed 

amendments would improve rail service in times of disruption and incentivize railroads to 

maintain better service overall.

USDA supports the Board’s proposal. It aligns with the Department’s perspective and prior 

comments in a number of ways. The proposal reduces the amount of time and information 

required for a shipper to obtain relief from the Board, while still maintaining standards for 

determining whether relief is warranted and which solution, if any, would be effective. In 

emergency situations—such as recent cases of agricultural shippers struggling to feed their 

animals—shippers need quick resolution. Also, those shippers have access only to information 

surrounding their own costs and actions, but not information on the railroads’ traffic and 

network. USDA believes the Board is moving in the right direction by shortening procedural 

timelines; creating an accelerated process to handle acute service emergencies; and shifting the 

informational burden onto the party most likely to have that information.
In general, USDA believes market-based solutions—where shippers and railroads find the best 

way to resolve their problems on their own—are the ideal. However, it is clear from the ongoing 

severe service problems that purely voluntary solutions are not enough. USDA believes the 

Board needs to implement an effective regulatory backdrop to set the boundaries within which 

voluntary negotiations take place. A more accessible emergency service rule is an effective step

in that direction. Ideally, scenarios where the railroads were unable to provide reasonable service 

to shippers would be rare. Still, USDA appreciates that the Board is proposing a better last-resort 

option to shippers when private negotiations fall through.

USDA encourages the Board to take a similar perspective in other open proceedings, such as 

Reciprocal Switching and Final Offer Rate Review. The final rules to emerge from these

proceedings could fulfill a similar role as the amended emergency service regulations: that is, 

they could serve as an accessible and effective regulatory backstop, strengthening railroads’ 

incentives to fulfill their common carrier obligation and improve their service to shippers.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Moffitt

Under Secretary

Marketing and Regulatory Programs