Saying “There is railroading going on in our districts, and it is the taxpayers who are being railroaded,” New York state Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mt. Hope, has called on his state to work more diligently to stop the rail haul of waste from facilities in his district that claim an exemption under federal law from all local, state and other federal agency jurisdiction.
In separate instances in Suffolk and Orange Counties, rail companies are asserting that federal law pre-empts local regulation of garbage hauling operations. The federal law is known as the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA). Federal courts have held that ICCTA’s provisions define “transportation” in an expansive manner—taking into account even non-rail related business like garbage transfer stations.
One such case is Coastal Distribution, LLC and the New York and Atlantic Railway Company v. the Town of Babylon.
As a result of that broad definition, rail lines and their contractors are able to set up garbage operations in localities—even when zoning otherwise would prohibit such operations. Critics say the court interpretation has allowed waste stations, with potentially hazardous and toxic materials, to be in residential neighborhoods.