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>From the Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C.
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The Surface Transportation Board announced today that it will hold an
August 2, 2012 public hearing to explore issues raised by the Board's
proposed regulations to increase the use of mediation and arbitration in
disputes before the Board.
While
the Board has existing procedures in place for both mediation and
arbitration,
the agency proposed last March the refinement and expansion of those rules
to
promote
greater use of alternative dispute resolution procedures. The proposed
rules
would require parties to mediate certain matters, and would simplify
current
rules for voluntary mediation. The Board also proposes a new program in
which
shippers and carriers could agree to arbitrate certain routine disputes
that
come
before
the Board. Class I and Class II rail carriers would be deemed to agree
voluntarily
to participate in the Board's proposed arbitration program unless they
"opt
out."
The
hearing
will begin at 9:30 a.m., in the Board's Hearing Room at the agency's
headquarters
located at 395 E Street, SW in Washington, D.C. Parties wishing to
participate
must file a notice of intent to participate (identifying the party,
proposed
speaker, and speaking time requested) no later than July 19, 2012.
The
Board's
notice announcing the hearing was issued to the public today in the
proceeding
entitled
Assessment
of Mediation and Arbitration Procedures, EP 699
( http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/WebDecisionID/42501?OpenDocument )
.
The
notice
will be published in the
Federal
Register
and
is
available
for viewing and downloading on the agency's website,
www.stb.dot.gov
.
Live
video
of the hearing will be available via the agency's website.
###
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