Rail Energy Transportation AC Meeting – 9-19-13

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) published a meeting notice in Tuesday’s Federal Register (78 FR 54370, available on-line Saturday) for a public meeting of the Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee (RETAC) on September 19^th, 2013 at the STB Headquarters in Washington, DC.

According to the notice the agenda  may include:

• Rail performance;

• Capacity constraints;

• Infrastructure planning and development;

• Effective coordination among suppliers, carriers, and users of energy resources;

• Introduction of new members;

• Performance measures review;

• Discussion of domestic oil production and transportation;

• Industry segment reports by RETAC members; and

• Presentation on the U.S. Energy Information Agency's annual energy outlook.

While not directly listed as part of the agenda, the recent FRA emergency order on hazmat rail transportation issues and the associated joint FRA-PHMSA safety advisory will certainly color the discussions of the rail transportation of ethanol, biofuels and crude oil. RETAC is not directly concerned with transportation safety issues, but safety restrictions may influence availability and scheduling of transportation assets.

The meeting will be open to the public and there are no registration requirements listed in the meeting notice. Written comments may be submitted via Michael Higgins (Michael.Higgins@stb.dot.gov).