Local Regulation of Railroads: Protecting Residents by Navigating the Complexities of Federal Preemption

Description

A patchwork of federal agencies, including the Federal Railroad Administration, the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate railroad operations, property, and safety. This primarily federal regulatory scheme creates challenges for counsel when local governments attempt to exercise local control over railroads to protect residents and property.

Municipal attorneys face a challenging task in understanding the unusual regulatory framework in addressing legal issues surrounding railroads in both transactional and litigation settings. The problems of quiet zones, new construction of rail facilities, the legal status of discontinued or abandoned rail lines, interpreting railroad easements and rights of ways, regulatory control of spurs and sidetracks, and condemnation of railroad property are just some of the intricate legal and regulatory challenges railroads present for local government counsel.

Listen as our experienced panel provides local government counsel with guidance on addressing the issues presented by freight and passenger railroads that run through cities. The panel will provide an overview of the federal regulatory scheme governing the railroad industry and discuss strategies for exercising local control to address safety, nuisance, liability, and economic issues. The panel will explore the challenges presented to local government counsel in protecting local interests in an area under predominately federal jurisdiction.