New Jersey State Inspectors Shut Down Three Rail Transfer Stations

Date: April 28, 2007

Source: News Room

New Jersey state inspectors shut down three rail site transfer stations owned by the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway Corp. The inspectors issued building code violations related to improper sprinkler systems to the all three sites located in North Bergen on 94th, 83rd and 58th streets. Rail company lawyers were quick to file an appeal with a state administrative law judge to overturn the orders. The incident represents the latest skirmish in the larger battle between the railroads and state officials and the waste industry about whether rail sites can be exempt from the same environmental and health regulations that apply to all other waste processing and disposal facilities. The argument centers on whether the federal laws that regulate the railroads preempt state and local laws that apply to everyone else. Earlier this month U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) testified at a Surface Transportation Board (STB) hearing to say states like New Jersey should have the authority to regulate solid waste processing facilities along rail lines.