Originally Posted by Wicked Local Upton
By Corin Cook/Daily News Staff
Dec. 8, 2015
UPTON - The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has recently filed for a rehearing, following a First Circuit Court of Appeals order that the STB re-review the operations of the Grafton/Upton Railroad.
Since 2012, Upton residents have been fighting with the STB about, what they call, a lack of regulations at the Upton facility of the Grafton and Upton Railroad. Currently, according to the First Circuit Court of Appeals case document, the railroad is exempt from strict regulations because it is considered a transportation facility. Upton petitioners argue that the way in which pellets are being transported at the facility should be considered manufacturing, making it subject to regulations.
Doug Pizzi, representative for the Grafton & Upton Railroad, said that at the Upton facility, the pellets are packaged and transported in hopper cars, because the alternative, box cars, are “not as efficient.”
The activity, petitioners said, “caused them harms such as exposure to excess glare, light intrusion, noise, and diminution of property values,” which could be prevented if the railroad were subject to Upton’s zoning by-laws, according to the case document.
In October, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the railroad petitioners, instructing the STB, which oversees railroads, to re-review the railroad operations.
But instead of complying with the order, the STB has filed for a rehearing, citing that the court's ruling was inconsistent with past similar case rulings, according to the rehearing request.
The request, which lists several cases from both the First Circuit and the Supreme Court, inconsistent with the court’s ruling, asks that the appellate court review and reconsider the ruling.
Sen. Michael Moore said he is “hoping the court stands by its original decision,” and the STB is required to go back and review the railroad.
He added, “The way it’s been, the STB is not making the local interest a concern.”
The Upton facility of the Grafton & Upton Railroad operates 24 hours a day, said Moore, and there are several residents “who were living there long before the railroad. … They should be able to sleep at night.”
Petitioner Diana Del Grosso said, “The First Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously made it clear that the Surface Transportation Board improperly analyzed the Upton case involving the wood pellet packaging plant and that the STB’s prior reasoning was questionable as well as defective. I am puzzled as to why the STB wants a rehearing before the same court and quite fascinated as to why the STB won’t simply accept the court’s instruction to go back and properly review the facts.”
She added, “I also find it curious that the railroad filed as an Intervenor the same exact day the STB filed their rehearing request, suggesting a coordinated effort between the two parties. The STB and railroad now appear to be moving in lockstep which is troubling given the STB’s supposed impartial role in this matter.”
Pizzi said the railroad recently filed as an intervenor, which he said is basically a way to formally indicate “the railroad is weighing in on the side of the STB.”
From what he collected from speaking with the court, Pizzi said, “The court is under no obligation to review this matter, and there is no statutory time period to make a decision to review it or not.”
He added that he hopes “that it does not go back to the STB,” and that the court decides to side with the STB, as it had initially.
SOURCE: http://upton.wickedlocal.com/article/20151208/NEWS/151206673