49 U.s.c. 11708

49 U.S. Code § 11708.Voluntary
arbitration of certain rail rates
and practices disputes
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U.S. Code
Notes
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(a)IN GENERAL.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Surface
Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Board shall
promulgate regulations to establish a voluntary and binding arbitration
process to resolve rail rate and practice complaints subject to the jurisdiction
of the Board.
(b)COVERED DISPUTES.—The voluntary and binding arbitration process
established pursuant to subsection (a)—
(1)shall apply to disputes involving—
(A)
rates, demurrage, accessorial charges, misrouting, or mishandling of rail
cars; or
(B)
a carrier’s published rules and practices as applied to particular
rail transportation;
(2)shall not apply to disputes—
(A)
to obtain the grant, denial, stay, or revocation of any license, authorization,
or exemption;
(B)
to prescribe for the future any conduct, rules, or results of general, industrywide applicability;
(C)
to enforce a labor protective condition; or
(D)
that are solely between 2 or more rail carriers; and
(3)
shall not prevent parties from independently seeking or utilizing private
arbitration services to resolve any disputes the parties may have.
(c)ARBITRATION PROCEDURES.—

(1)IN GENERAL.—The Board—
(A)
may make the voluntary and binding arbitration process established
pursuant to subsection (a) available only to the relevant parties;
(B)may make the voluntary and binding arbitration process available only—
(i)
after receiving the written consent to arbitrate from all relevant parties; and
(ii)
(I)
after the filing of a written complaint; or
(II)
through other procedures adopted by the Board in a rulemaking proceeding;
(C)
with respect to rate disputes, may make the voluntary and binding
arbitration process available only to the relevant parties if the rail carrier has
market dominance (as determined under section 10707); and
(D)
may initiate the voluntary and binding arbitration process not later than 40
days after the date on which a written complaint is filed or through other
procedures adopted by the Board in a rulemaking proceeding.
(2)LIMITATION.—
Initiation of the voluntary and binding arbitration process shall preclude
the Board from separately reviewing a complaint or dispute related to the
same rail rate or practice in a covered dispute involving the same parties.
(3)RATES.—
In resolving a covered dispute involving the reasonableness of a rail
carrier’s rates, the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as applicable, shall
consider the Board’s methodologies for setting maximum lawful rates, giving
due consideration to the need for differential pricing to permit a rail
carrier to collect adequate revenues (as determined under section
10704(a)(2)).
(d)ARBITRATION DECISIONS.—Any decision reached in an arbitration process
under this section—
(1)
shall be consistent with sound principles of rail regulation economics;
(2)
shall be in writing;
(3)
shall contain findings of fact and conclusions;
(4)
shall be binding upon the parties; and

(5)
shall not have any precedential effect in any other or subsequent arbitration
dispute.
(e)TIMELINES.—
(1)SELECTION.—
An arbitrator or panel of arbitrators shall be selected not later than 14 days
after the date of the Board’s decision to initiate arbitration.
(2)EVIDENTIARY PROCESS.—The evidentiary process of the voluntary and
binding arbitration process shall be completed not later than 90 days after
the date on which the arbitration process is initiated unless—
(A)
a party requests an extension; and
(B)
the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as applicable, grants such extension
request.
(3)DECISION.—
The arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as applicable, shall issue a decision not
later than 30 days after the date on which the evidentiary record is closed.
(4)EXTENSIONS.—
The Board may extend any of the timelines under this subsection upon the
agreement of all parties in the dispute.
(f)ARBITRATORS.—
(1)IN GENERAL.—
Unless otherwise agreed by all of the parties, an arbitration under this
section shall be conducted by an arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, which
shall be selected from a roster, maintained by the Board, of persons with
rail transportation, economic regulation, professional or business experience,
including agriculture, in the private sector.
(2)INDEPENDENCE.—
In an arbitration under this section, the arbitrators shall perform their duties
with diligence, good faith, and in a manner consistent with the requirements
of impartiality and independence.
(3)SELECTION.—
(A)In general.—
If the parties cannot mutually agree on an arbitrator, or the lead arbitrator
of a panel of arbitrators, the parties shall select the arbitrator or lead
arbitrator from the roster by alternately striking names from the roster until
only 1 name remains meeting the criteria set forth in paragraph (1).
(B)Panel of arbitrators.—If the parties agree to select a panel of arbitrators,
instead of a single arbitrator, the panel shall be selected under this
subsection as follows:
(i)

The parties to a dispute may mutually select 1 arbitrator from the roster to
serve as the lead arbitrator of the panel of arbitrators.
(ii)
If the parties cannot mutually agree on a lead arbitrator, the parties shall
select a lead arbitrator using the process described in subparagraph (A).
(iii)
In addition to the lead arbitrator selected under this subparagraph, each
party to a dispute shall select 1 additional arbitrator from the roster,
regardless of whether the other party struck out the arbitrator’s name under
subparagraph (A).
(4)COST.—
The parties shall share the costs incurred by the Board and arbitrators
equally, with each party responsible for paying its own legal and other
associated arbitration costs.
(g)RELIEF.—
(1)IN GENERAL.—
Subject to the limitations set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3), an arbitral
decision under this section may award the payment of damages
or rate prescriptive relief.
(2)PRACTICE DISPUTES.—
The damage award for practice disputes may not exceed $2,000,000.
(3)RATE DISPUTES.—
(A)Monetary limit.—
The damage award for rate disputes, including any rate prescription, may
not exceed $25,000,000.
(B)Time limit.—
Any rate prescription shall be limited to not longer than 5 years from the
date of the arbitral decision.
(h)BOARD REVIEW.—If a party appeals a decision under this section to
the Board, the Board may review the decision under this section to
determine if—
(1)
the decision is consistent with sound principles of rail regulation economics;
(2)
a clear abuse of arbitral authority or discretion occurred;
(3)
the decision directly contravenes statutory authority; or
(4)
the award limitation under subsection (g) was violated.
(Added Pub. L. 114–110, § 13(a), Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2235.)