ISSUE 1 | 2012
Featured Member:
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation
McDuffie Coal Terminal
2012
Spring Conference The Greenbrier America’s Resort
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Looking to lower your overall operating costs?
Is the big decision to Repair or Replace?
Do you manage a fleet of coal or aggregate hauling cars that are past due for preventive maintenance on their door operating systems? Do you have cars that are operating sporadically or not at all? Are you tired of costly spill cleanups due to vandalism or some other inadvertent operation of your doors? If so, you should consider replacing your door operating valves with new state-of-the-art Lexair Second Generation Railcar Valves. From an added benefits and features standpoint, it is less expensive and more cost effective to replace valves on older cars with our newer, improved design. Changing to these new valves with all their great features helps assure correct and proper operation of your cars. This action will assist you in lowering your overall costs and help you keep your “cost-per-mile” of operation as low as possible.
Second Generation Valve Features:
• Main valve element is based on our rugged “sliding shoe” construction – the same trouble-free design that has been used in our railcar valves for over two decades. • A sequenced mechanical lock maintains the valve in the “door close” position regardless of outside forces or vibration. • The locking feature is released only when an electrical or manual signal to shift has been received. • A visual indicator is operated via the lock mechanism that clearly shows whether the valve is in the “door close” position with the valve element locked in place or if the valve is in the unlocked or “door open” position. • Because they are mechanically locked in the “door close” position, the valves may be mounted in any position or orientation - the valve element does not have to be perpendicular to the rails. • The units can easily be modified so that they can be linked to ECP Brake Systems in the future for communication of valve position status. • The modular design allows the main valve unit to be removed/replaced in minutes without disturbing the electrical connection or plumbing when repair due to age or service conditions becomes necessary. • Self closing solenoid cover/junction box can be locked to prevent unauthorized access to manual overrides. • Our patented “Safety Check” technology (U.S. Patents 7,093,455 and 7,328,661) is available as a “no-charge” option. • Innovative lock/indicator features latest Lexair, Inc. technology (Patent Pending).
Typical Before Installation Photos
Typical After Installation Photos
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Contents
ISSUE 1 | 2012
08
58
Washington Visits
Wisconsin Public Service
50
Rule 112
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
6
2
Message from the NCTA President – Betsy Monseu
4
Message from the NCTA Executive Director – Tom Canter
18
NCTA Membership Benefits
20
NCTA Welcomes New Members
Meet Your Board: John Hull
Member Profile: 8 Wisconsin Public Service
PUBLISHED BY:
Corporation
22
McDuffie Coal Terminal
National Coal Transportation Association
32
4 W. Meadow Lark Lane Suite 100 Littleton, CO 80127-5718 Phone: 303-979-2798 Fax: 303-973-1848 www.nationalcoaltransportation.org
NCTA Website for the Intellectually Challenged
42
Handbrakes; Wheelsets; and Accountability: Who’s Stuck with the Bill?
40
NCTA Committee Updates
48
Calendar of Events
50
AAR Office Manual/Rule 112
66 Statistics
54
STB Update
68
Members Sound Off
Editor: Pat Scherzinger Phone: 303-993-7172 scherzinger@ nationalcoaltransportation.org
56
2011 NCTA Scholarship Recipients
75
View from the Caboose
Production By: Suckerpunch Creative Inc. info@suckerpunch.ca www.suckerpunch.ca
58
NCTA Washington Visits
76
Membership List
62
The Other Side of the Tracks: Understanding the Regulatory Burdens of Coal End-Users
Index to Advertisers
76
Cover Photo: Steve Barry
70
Reflections: Willie Yager
©2012 NCTA. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or part, without the prior written consent of NCTA. The opinions expressed by the authors of the articles appearing in the Coal Transporter are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the NCTA, its Board of Directors or its member companies. Publication of the articles does not constitute an endorsement of the views that may be expressed.
CONFERENCES 14
2011 Fall Meeting & Conference Recap Denver, Colorado, September 12-14, 2011
29
Spring General Conference Preview White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, April 15-18, 2012
46
2012 O & M Conference Announcement Hershey, Pennsylvania, June 11-13, 2012 COAL TRANSPORTER | 1
President’s Report / Betsy Monseu
President’s Report A Message from NCTA President, Betsy Monseu.
T
he American Dream. How is it defined today, and what shape is it in? Xavier University has a center for the study of the American Dream, and they find that we still define the American Dream using basic terms - a “good job” and “opportunity”, and those evoking the founding principles of our country - “freedom” and “pursuit of happiness”. And the American Dream is apparently in good shape. According to Xavier, the majority of Americans are confident they will attain their American Dream. How can this be? Xavier reported on Americans’ declining confidence in our economy, declining trust in government, big business, and the media, and declining optimism about America’s leadership position in the world. Yes, “declining” seems to be the operative word. Their latest polling shows more than two-thirds of Americans don’t see any relevance of the Presidential campaign to our American
2 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Dreams. And over eighty percent of us think our elected officials have lost sight of the American Dream. In spite of all of this, Xavier found that most Americans foster the belief that on a personal level, we as individuals can achieve our American Dreams. Is there a disconnect here? In some ways, I think there is. If we as Americans give up on our American Dreams, what have we? If we don’t believe we can make things better, where are we? Confidence in the American Dream is fundamental to American innovation and willingness to take risks. But taking it one step further, we also need to consider the world today in its increasing complexity and interconnectivity. The U.S. is no island, and other economies are developing rapidly. The seventh-billion person was born last year – in India. Our individual belief in the American Dream needs to be reconnected to political support for it. Continued polarization in government and a jaundiced view of business and basic
industry only increase our risk of losing ground to other economies. America will be stronger and more resilient if we view ourselves in a collective American Dream and not within the bubble of our individual American Dreams. Ultimately, it’s that collective American Dream that will propel us to continue our leadership position in the world and demonstrate the abiding principles our country was founded on. NCTA’s member companies contribute to the ability of Americans to achieve the American Dream on both an individual and collective basis. There is pride in being part of a great legacy of supporting the development of our economy. Sustaining that is both a challenge and an opportunity. The NCTA Board, Tom Canter, and Pat Scherzinger will continue to steward the mission of NCTA to inform and educate within the realm of those challenges and opportunities. We look forward to seeing you at NCTA events this year. s
Executive Director’s Message / Tom Canter
More on Forcing Technology A Message from NCTA’s Executive Director, Tom Canter.
M
y message again contains rambling about forced technology from the policy makers in defiance of the laws of physics and economics. Taking up where I finished in the last diatribe, I must admit that I have found no repeatable metric proving the direct relationship between the ever increasing disorder (entropy) in the universe and the hot air emanating from the vicinity of the Potomac River. However, there surely is observational and anecdotal evidence of weird stuff going on. Let’s move on and discuss the horrors of forcing non-economic policies on the working folks. Nothing has changed in the last six months as politicians insist on imposing legislation and regulations that create the inverse of the touted good intentions. We are told that if we will only embrace their favored non-economic technologies, we will create good-paying jobs, become energy independent, have a “sustainable environment”, become healthier, and enjoy greater national security. Who could be against such a salubrious condition? All we have to do is let politicians and environmental activists pick losers and winners with the emphasis on picking losers (Need I inform you of the energy source designated as the prime loser?). Never mind that the Soviet Union imposed decades of Five Year Plans with centralized control over production of goods and the centralized selection of technologies to employ. These policies yielded the Sputnik, huge, noisy, submarines, the Lada automobile, long lines for food and queues for every consumer commodity, and a bankrupt national economy. (As a related aside,
4 | COAL TRANSPORTER
several years ago, yours truly, rode around Minsk, Belarus, in a Lada sedan with a very discernible odor of leaking gasoline, but no discernible suspension system. It was a prime example of central planning.) Have we not learned that the bureaucratic selection of winners and losers has unintended consequences and does not result in economic progress? Here’s the difficulty with bureaucratically forcing technology into the economy: • An environmental “crisis” is perceived or fabricated that requires a technology not yet commercially viable to “resolve”. • A politically correct technology is chosen as a winner and existing commercially viable technologies are required to be losers. • The winner technology needs to be subsidized or is legally required to be implemented to obfuscate its commercial non-viability. • Government does not promote solid, structured research and development in technology, but skips to subsidies of the chosen technology at the retail level. • Existing technologies are penalized with taxes or arbitrary environmental regulations so that their economic advantage is eliminated. • Existing capital investment by ratepayers is destroyed by prematurely shutting down existing generating plants. • Electric rates and energy costs skyrocket for the poor, the retired on fixed income (Grandma Olson) and the businesses that would like to create domestic jobs. • Jobs are exported to regions that
continue to effectively use proven economical and abundant technology to generate electricity. (read coal) Some unintended, but real consequences: • Subsidies create waste, fraud, and corruption. Several companies subsidized by taxpayers have recently declared bankruptcy besides Solyndra. These companies always seem to have friends and investors in high places. • Subsidized companies cannot maintain their artificial advantage over foreign entities and their products are being produced overseas more cheaply. Vestas, the world’s largest maker of wind generators in Denmark, has announced significant layoffs in Denmark for 2012 and is struggling to compete. • The promise for a “new energy” economy is not being realized. Remember when Spain was touted in the State of the Union address as the example to follow for the U.S. Well, Spain cut off subsidies for solar and wind last year as the economy tanked with a 21% unemployment rate and economic contraction is predicted for 2012. • Economic recovery from the recession is slower than a normal recovery. Of course, there is nothing good about the above litany of horrors. Your challenge is to make sure your neighbors, colleagues, and your brother-in-law understand what is happening to them, and why it unnecessarily harming our standard of living. Have a safe day producing energy and wealth for the good people of North America. s
GE Capital Rail Services
The system’s been in our system from the beginning With roots in the railroad sector that span nearly a century, the building blocks of the industry are in our DNA. We offer a combination of industry experience, leadership, innovation, and financial strength. Whether you seek smart leasing products for railcars and locomotives, or a suite of cost-effective maintenance and fleet management services we're wired to be your 'go -to' resource in the next era of the industry's evolution. You could say that rail is in our system. www.ge.com/railservices
Meet Your Board / John Hull
MEET YOUR BOARD John Hull
B
John Hull
Vice President, Domestic Transportation Peabody Energy
“What I enjoy the most about serving this industry is seeing the dedication and camaraderie that this Board and the people in our association have. The mining industry – and especially the coal industry – attracts fantastic people who develop life-long friendships.”
- John Hull
6 | COAL TRANSPORTER
oard member John Hull is Vice President – Domestic Transportation for Peabody Energy’s operations in the US. In this position, John functions as the liaison between Peabody’s sales department, its mines, and the railroad carriers, allowing John to put his broad background in the industry to good use. Although currently working in Peabody’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, John spent much of his career in the western US. For him, the mining business is a family affair as both John and his wife Jeane have been working in the industry for over 30 years, splitting time between the coal and copper mining industries. John has been with Peabody for five years now and prior to that, primarily with Rio Tinto and its affiliated companies in the United States. After graduating with a Mining Engineering Degree from South Dakota School of Mines, John worked engineering and operations related jobs for 15 years at various facilities in Oregon, New Mexico and Wyoming. John’s first operations job was in New Mexico where he helped insure that the proper ore quality was being mined and delivered to the mills. This early supervisory experience helped him understand that being successful in the mining business starts with getting along, communicating with, and trusting people. John recalls having to go into areas that had just been blasted to stake material as ore or waste. “You had to communicate with the blasters and shovel operators to make sure they had done their job and knew where you were.” Since earning his MBA in the late 1980’s most of his career has been in the financial, business development, and commercial side of mining. “The best job I ever had was probably my coal salesman role. Not only did I get an opportunity to work with people and learn more
about how the commodity we mined was utilized by our customers, but I got to golf and go out to dinner. What a job! Seriously, putting together a deal where your customer is happy with the product and the company can make a profit is very fulfilling.” His current job as Vice President – Domestic Transportation provides him with plenty of challenges because most coal contracts are sold FOB mine, with the utility holding the transportation contract with the railroads. John must continually collaborate with many stakeholders, and communication drives success. John enjoys the diversity of this position and especially working with utility and railroad counterparts to ensure the coal gets delivered in a cost-effective and reliable fashion. With the current economy and political environment the U.S. coal industry has plenty of challenges. As a producer he views his primary goal is to help insure our industry works safely and cost effectively and to facilitate on time delivery. John has been involved with the NCTA for almost 12 years now. He started attending conferences in late 90’s when his wife Jeane, who was the first chairman of the Western Logistics and Planning Committee, was leading Kennecott’s Customer Service Department. In 2008, John assumed Mike Rayphole’s position when he retired from Peabody and was appointed to the Education Committee. John joined the Board in 2009. “What I enjoy the most about serving this industry is seeing the dedication and camaraderie that this Board and the people in our association have. The mining industry – and especially the coal industry – attracts fantastic people who develop life-long friendships.” John enjoys spending time with Jeane as they are both avid golfers and outdoor enthusiasts. s
Keep Your Coal to Yourself
COAL DUST SUPPRESSANT
Fugitive dust and leachate are the dirty fingerprints of coal on wheels and ballasts. Two to three percent of every load may be lost, a financial drain made worse by fines and tariffs. Dustant™ Dust Suppressant spray-on emulsion cuts emissions from loads of coal during transportation and storage. It penetrates deeply to form an elastic, pliable film that won’t crack with vibration or shifting. And not only does Dustant reduce dust and runoff by an amazing 100% in laboratory tests, but its unique, third-party certified, environmentally sound chemistry actually adds BTUs to the coal. To find out more about how Dustant leaves competitive products in the dust, contact Momentive at +1 866 443 9466.
We’re the science behind what lies ahead.
© 2012 Momentive
momentive.com
NCTA Membership Profile / Wisconsin Public Service Corporation
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Reliable Energy Solutions For A Sustainable Tomorrow
Weston 4 – 2008 Power Plant of the Year Photos Courtesy Integrys
By Sarah Owen, Wisconsin Public Service
The utility company has grown along with its communities over the years, but it remains dedicated to delivering energy without fail, reducing costs that affect its customers, helping homes and businesses save energy and money and implementing new environmentally friendly practices.
8 | COAL TRANSPORTER
W
isconsin Public Service (WPS) is a regulated utility company that serves Northeast and North Central Wisconsin, as well as a small portion of Upper Michigan. Every year, WPS works to deliver safe, reliable service to approximately 439,000 electric and 318,000 natural gas customers in its 11,000-square-mile service area. The utility company has grown along with its communities over the years, but it remains dedicated to delivering energy without fail, reducing costs that affect its customers, helping homes and businesses save energy and money and implementing new environmentally friendly practices. WPS is owned by Integrys Energy Group (NYSE:TEG), formerly WPS Resources Corporation, which includes among its holdings five other utilities in Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. The history of WPS dates to 1883, when a small gas company formed in Oshkosh, Wis. Established then as the Oshkosh Gas Light Company, it was incorporated as Wisconsin Public Service in 1922. In 2008, WPS celebrated 125 years of serving customers, and its longstanding commitment to energy conservation, being responsible stewards of the environment, supporting the communities it serves and maintaining a diverse energy portfolio. WPS provides electric and natural gas products and services to residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial customers. It also provides electric power to wholesale customers. Today, WPS has 1,363 employees and operates about 21,700 miles of
WPS Facilities Electricity
2,284 megawatts of electric generating capacity (based on summer capacity ratings). 21,700 miles of electric distribution lines, 97% of which are operated at 24.9 kilovolts.
Natural Gas
Approximately 7,850 miles of distribution and transmission main (74% plastic main). 87 natural gas distribution and transmission gate stations. 297,000 natural gas lateral services.
Coal-fired Power Plant
Units
First Year of Ownership
WPS Ownership
5 6 7 8
1949 1951 1958 1964
100% 100% 100% 100%
50 (50) 62.5 (62.5) 75 (75) 125 (125) 312.5
1 2 3 4
1954 1960 1981 2008
100% 100% 100% 70%
60 (60) 78 (78) 321 (321) 532 (373) 991 (832)
4
1969
31.8%
330 (105)
1 2
1975 1978
31.8% 31.8%
527 (167.6) 527 (167.6) 1054 (335.2)
J.P. Pulliam Green Bay, WI
Weston Rothschild, WI
Edgewater Sheboygan, WI
Columbia Portage, WI
Total WPS coal-fired capacity (Net MW Generation) =
electric distribution lines and 7,850 miles of natural gas distribution and transmission main.
Generating Electricity Responsibly
WPS produces electricity from many sources, including coal, natural gas, wind, water, solar and biogas. The majority of the electricity WPS customers use – more than 65 percent – comes from coal-fired power plants. WPS is committed to generating electricity in the most responsible manner possible. The Weston Power Plant near Wausau, Wisconsin, is home to four electricity-generating units – including its newest, Weston 4, a 532 net-MW power plant that uses clean coal technologies. It involves the use of low-sulfur coal, state-of-the-art air quality control systems and supercritical boiler technology that helps increase boiler efficiency, resulting in reduced emissions and coal combustion byproducts. “Weston 4 is one of the cleanest coal-fired power plants in the country,” said Bruce Bruzina, assistant vice president – energy supply operations. “It was named Power Magazine’s Plant of the Year in 2008 for its unparalleled environmental protection
Total MW (WPS MW)
1,585 MW
credentials, a well-integrated project team and having the most advanced coal-fired steam generation technology in the U.S. today.” WPS owns and maintains 1,000 railcars onsite at the Weston Power Plant. This helps ensure coal deliveries to its power plants, reduces rail and railcar maintenance costs and provides the company operational flexibility.
Alternative Energy Solutions
Coal is the primary source of electric generation power for many utilities like WPS, but alternative energy is an increasing focus. In Wisconsin, utilities must meet the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio, which requires 10 percent of Wisconsin’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2015. WPS owns and operates 15 hydroelectric power plants in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. In 2011, hydro accounted for 2.8 percent of the utility’s total electric generation. The utility also invests in wind energy, and has for more than a decade. WPS owns and operates the 99-MW, 66-turbine Crane Creek Wind Farm in Northeast Iowa. And, 14 wind COAL TRANSPORTER | 9
turbines at the Lincoln Wind Energy Facility have generated electricity for WPS customers since 1999. During Crane Creek’s second full year of operation in 2011, the wind farm’s turbines generated energy 87 percent of the time. In total during 2011, the wind farm produced 294,000 megawatt-hours of electricity – which is equivalent to the amount of energy used by 32,000 average homes. Conserving energy at its coal-fired plants is also a focus for WPS. In 2010, employees at the J.P. Pulliam and Weston power plants implemented a large-scale program to reduce electric use within those facilities. They conducted plant-wide assessments of energy-using processes, evaluated alternatives for reducing energy use and made bold changes to practices. They reduced nonessential lighting, eliminated redundant systems and rightsized operating equipment or turned it off during low production periods. Overall, WPS achieved more than a 9,000-MW reduction in electricity with efforts at both plants.
Environmental Initiatives
At WPS, employees are creating energy solutions for a sustainable tomorrow. The company helps customers conserve energy, continually adds to its use of renewable resources, seeks ways to improve its environmental performance and considers the environment in its everyday work.
Emission Controls WPS has a strong track record for reducing emissions at its coalfired plants. In recent years, it completed a series of new emission control projects, helping the utility meet stricter state and federal air quality regulatory requirements. In 2010, WPS commissioned mercury-reducing equipment at Weston and Pulliam power plants, as well as the Columbia and Edgewater coal-fired power plants that are jointly owned with other utilities. Weston 4 was the first power plant that went into commercial operation in Wisconsin required to use sorbent injection control to reduce mercury emissions. Weston 4’s mercury emissions represent Best Available Control Technology. In addition to mercury reduction efforts, WPS completed a series of retrofit projects from 2008 to 2010 to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Low NOx burners and Separated OverFire Air (SOFA) equipment were installed at the Weston and Pulliam power plants to control the combustion process and reduce NOx emissions by 50 percent. The projects were approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “By reducing our own NOx emissions, we helped improve air quality in Northern and Central Wisconsin and reduced the need to purchase NOx allowances from other plants in future years,” said Connie Lawniczak, director – environmental services. “It’s a savings that pays for itself in less than five years.”
“By reducing our own NOx emissions, we helped improve air quality in Northern and Central Wisconsin.”
24/7/365 monitoring & management of railcars Coordination of railcars w/shippers needs, mines and railroads Immediate notification of problems and delays Customized reports of activities Assistance with contract development and administration Leasing services Railcar storage monitoring to eliminate lost cars
In good times or tough situations, our experts work hard to assure the optimal utilization of your critical railcar assets. Give us a call and we will customize a program to meet your specific needs.
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Recycling Coal Ash Ash management is a challenge most coal-fired generators face. WPS beneficially reuses nearly 100 percent of the ash produced by its power plants. A byproduct of coal combustion, fly ash, bottom ash and Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) ash would be destined for landfills if it were not beneficially recycled in some way. The Pulliam Power Plant burns 1.5 million tons of coal annually, which produces 60,000 to 70,000 tons of fly ash and 10,000 tons of bottom ash. The Weston Power Plant burns 3.7 million tons, producing 60,000 to 70,000 tons of fly ash, 130,000 to 135,000 tons of FGD ash and 80,000 to 85,000 tons of bottom ash each year. Both power plants produce and sell a high-quality fly ash that is used to replace 30 percent or more of the Portland cement in ready-mix applications. WPS also beneficially reuses its ash: • In structural fill projects. Since 1986, WPS has worked with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to place ash in highway embankments and other parts of major highway construction projects, placing more than 2 million tons of ash that would otherwise have ended up in landfills.
Weston 4 – 2008 Power Plant of the Year • To help extend the Central Wisconsin Airport east-west safety-way, placing more than 820,000 tons of ash since 1991. • As “clean fill” for Wisconsin quarries, where backfill or reclaim areas have been excavated, to minimize erosion and sedimentation. • As a stabilizer for in-place asphalt recycling. WPS also assists several Wisconsin paper mills in beneficially reusing their ash. “We continue to look for new uses for ash produced by our coal-fired power plants,” said Karen Kollmann, director – fuels management for WPS. “It’s cost effective; it encourages new markets to develop, such as roller compacted concrete and permeable base course construction; and it’s good environmental stewardship.” 12 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Protecting Wildlife At WPS, business isn’t just about supply and demand, but also about making decisions that protect the environment, wildlife and quality of life for future generations. That’s why WPS has avidly supported Peregrine Falcon nesting efforts at its Weston and Pulliam power plants. Birds are naturally attracted Rare Peregrine to power plants because of their tall stacks, proximity to open water and Falcon Chick steady food supply of other birds in the area. Since 1996, WPS has helped bring back this endangered bird of prey to Wisconsin. High above the spot where the Fox River meets the bay of Green Bay, nestled in the southeast corner of the roof of the Pulliam Power Plant, lies a specially built home designed for the rare Peregrine Falcon. In the last 15 years, the unlikely location has produced 50 falcon chicks. In 2006, for the first time, four Peregrines also hatched atop the Weston Power Plant. WPS employees had been trying to attract the Peregrines to nest there for five years. Since 2006,
16 Peregrine chicks have hatched there. A “Peregrine Falcon Cam” installed at the power plants allows the community to watch nesting activity and hatching each year on the WPS website, beginning in March.
Focused On The Future
WPS recognizes that clean-coal technologies, renewable resources and a diverse energy portfolio will help secure a promising energy supply in years to come. Still, coal will continue to be a primary source of electric generation. “Coal-fired generation will continue to play an integral role in our, and the nation’s, ability to provide safe, reliable and clean energy solutions,” Lawniczak said. “Our power plants have been at the forefront of technologies that help protect our environment and lower costs. We anticipate increasingly strict environmental regulation and legislation on emission controls. In response, WPS will continue its proactive approach, ready to meet these challenges and continue planning for the future.” s
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Contact us at +1 (724) 520-1630 or xcoal@xcoal.com
NCTA 2011 Fall Conference / Denver, Colorado
NCTA 2011
Fall Conference
Brett Galli and Jarad Griffith
Brown Palace Denver, Colorado September 12-14, 2011
T
he NCTA held its 37th annual Business Meeting and General Conference, September 12-14, 2011 at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado. The conference sessions were well attended and participants enjoyed time to network at several hosted receptions and customer events. The theme of this year’s conference was “Managing the Message”. Special Guest Speaker Scott Rasmussen, President of Rasmussen Reports opened the event, providing attendees with insights into how public opinion gets formed and how the coal industry can tap into other movements to manage its message. In addition to its focus on transportation issues, the Fall Conference traditionally covers various aspects of energy supply and demand as well as alternate fuel sources. Illinois Basin supply, western coal export markets, and the use of algae-based fuel technologies with the added benefit of CO2 capture were spotlighted this year. Regulatory changes and compliance strategies were also a focal point as utilities and producers deal with an onslaught of new rules, tariffs, and EPA mandates. On Wednesday morning, a special panel covered the latest in dust mitigation technologies using the audience response system to give immediate feedback from attendees on panel-supplied questions. The conference included several opportunities for reflection, including a September 11th remembrance, a special presentation from the Empire District on the tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri this past May, and an update from the BNSF on record flooding throughout the Midwest. All of these events were devastating to individual’s lives and to infrastructure. As presenters thanked those who had stepped up to help out when they were needed most, it was clear that recovery was a result of coming together, working together, and succeeding together. That is a message that clearly needs no management. s
Virg Meyer and
Jeff Zerkle
Kevin Koepke, Jerry
Rodriguez, Seth Cres
pin,
Pat Cummings, Jay Leadingham
d Tod McCrea
Rick Haener an 14 | COAL TRANSPORTER
ich, John LeSeur
Tod McCrea, Tom Zolnerow
Dave Wehrfritz and Ken Smith
ger
Tim Ewing and Brian Ottin
Jon Barr, Tim Stanley, Jason Dial, Darrell Dial and Rusty Dial
John Mayer, Molly Mitchell, and Jeff Maier
Bette Whalen and David Carlile
y
nd Terry Ma
a Jan Figgins
COAL TRANSPORTER | 15
Tom Canter and Scott Rasmussen Bill Lyness and Larry Siler
Will Amos, Allen
Betty Jarosz
Gould, Jeff Maier
Bill Hilton and John Faulconer
Bob McNamee and
Allen Childress, Amanda Bishop
Tim Johnson
Udicious, Eric Linn
2011 FALL SPONSORS Fall Reception Associated Terminals, LLC Florida Marine Transporters FreightCar America GE Capital Rail Services Global One / CoalCap 16 | COAL TRANSPORTER
The Greenbrier Companies Kinder Morgan Midwest Industrial Supply Maxeefish LLC Nalco Company Xcoal Energy & Resources
Fall Flyer FreightCar America
Lanyards Enserco Energy
Tom Ebert
The Working World is always on. It’s a fact. And it’s just one more reason we’re committed to helping you supply dependable, affordable electricity to your customers. We work around the clock to provide quality assurance, trusted reliability and personal service. And with our national network of mines and 5.5 billion tons of coal reserves, you can trust us to help you meet the growing demands of America’s energy users from coast to coast — for decades to come.
We are Arch Coal.
Contact:
For more information:
We’re one of the world’s top five coal producers helping to supply fuel to the Working World. Whether we’re providing the coal to generate electricity or manufacture steel, we play an integral role in supplying a safe, responsible, life-enabling and world-developing resource.
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NCTA Membership Profile / xxxx
Membership Criteria Membership in the association shall be open to entities that are producers or consumers of coal produced in North America and other entities which are interested in its transportation and related issues. Entities or their affiliates whose primary business is providing transportation of coal by rail, barge, truck, pipeline slurry, or any other mode shall not be eligible for membership. One individual from each member company is designated to act as its representative. However, any individual employed by the member may participate in association activities.
Classes of Membership Regular Members:
Actual or potential producers or consumers of coal shall be entitled to apply to become voting members of the association in accordance with provisions in the bylaws and policies adopted by the Board of Directors.
Associate Members:
Individuals or entities who are interested in the transportation of coal or related issues, but who do not otherwise qualify for admission as voting members, may seek admission as a non-voting member. Associate members may serve and be empowered by the committee chair to vote on committees, but shall not have the right to vote in general or special meetings of NCTA.
Honorary Individual Members:
For good cause shown including but not limited to exemplary and outstanding service to the NCTA, a former Designated Representative of a Voting Member may be appointed an Honorary Individual Member of the National Coal Transportation Association. Honorary members may serve and be empowered to vote by the committee chair on committees, but do not have the right to vote in general or special meetings of NCTA. Membership dues and registration fees and other assessments of NCTA may be waived for Honorary Individual Members.
Membership Benefits
Your company may belong to more industry associations than just NCTA, but no other association provides the unique combination of education and real world results that come from NCTA membership. The financial impact associated with the procurement and delivery of coal demands this focus. NCTA maintains a high level of national prominence and credibility by participating in hearings, workshops, and symposiums, coordinating with ad hoc coalitions, providing resource material for governmental agencies, negotiating and educating on issues of general membership concern with carriers. 18 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Conferences with Character
For three days in the spring and fall of each year, NCTA provides coal industry professionals with an exclusive opportunity to share their outlook and knowledge and to exchange ideas. NCTA conferences provide its members the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others with similar responsibilities and from outside experts in an open and noncompetitive environment. Think of the ideas you can borrow, the pitfalls you can avoid and the valuable insight you can give and receive. Members attend all conference at a preferential rate.
Logistics and Planning Subcommittees
The Eastern and Western Logistics & Planning Subcommittees do much of the heavy lifting to solve problems with respect to the efficient operation of the coal delivery process. An important source of strength is the NCTA working committee system that is made possible by the dedication and expertise of our member representatives and the cooperation of the rail carriers. Each Logistics & Planning group meets at least twice annually. These working group meetings are open meetings and are free to attend.
Operations & Maintenance Subcommittee
For companies that do not have the resources, or have diminished resources to support company representation on industry and consensus-based technical panels, the O&M subcommittee helps to fill this gap. The annual conference program provides excellent information on new technologies and best practices for coal car design, maintenance, and repair.
Access to Railcar Leasing Exchange Board
NCTA members have exclusive access to a railcar leasing exchange board where excess train capacity can be posted for lease and where members can post railcar needs. With 86,000 private cars owned and operated by NCTA members, this is a good place to start when you need to adjust your capacity requirements.
Commitment to Education
Education is a hallmark of NCTA. NCTA educates its members through its annual conferences and publications.
NCTA also supports education through its scholarship program that awards scholarships to students in transportation at several major universities as well as to the dependent sons and daughters of employees of member companies.
Policy Insights
The Board of Directors continues to meet in Washington, D.C. each year to visit governmental agencies and other trade associations. Maintaining a presence in Washington enables NCTA to have input into federal policymaking and to better represent member concerns on federal issues. NCTA fosters relationships with key personnel and departments within the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, and with various elected representatives. NCTA is an educational entity and does not officially lobby for or against legislation. However, we do actively participate in hearings and rulemaking proceedings of interest to our membership.
Membership in NCTA is a sound business decision with a solid return on investment
Communications
Through its ever growing web presence, NCTA communicates with the world about the coal industry and with NCTA member companies - linking potential customers to its members and linking its members to other useful Web sites throughout the Internet. A “Members Only” section provides detailed member contact information, valuable updates on current subcommittee initiatives, a railcar leasing marketplace and other items of interest exclusively to NCTA members. The conference archives date back to 2004, creating a virtual library of information on energy and transportation issues. The semi-annual Coal Transporter magazine focuses on getting to know people in the industry, as well as informing NCTA members and the coal industry as a whole of new and relevant events occurring within the organization. Membership in NCTA is a sound business decision with a solid return on investment and we look forward to serving you. A member company of the National Coal Transportation Association is not just another utility, coal supplier, rail equipment supplier, or coal related services organization. It is part of a tradition of excellence that through affiliation with NCTA, it signals exceptional commitment and obligation to the market, its customers and to the public.
Annual Dues
The annual dues for membership in NCTA are $1,250.00 payable in January of each year.
Application for Membership
All entities or persons desiring membership in the association should apply using the online application or contacting the NCTA for a membership application. The application will include the name, principal business activity and business address of the applicant and the full contact information for the applicant’s proposed Designated Representative. Application forms, along with payment of the annual dues, should be returned to the Executive Director of the Association. The Board of Directors shall approve or disapprove all applications for membership and shall make a determination as to the class of membership into which the applicant shall be admitted. s COAL TRANSPORTER | 19
New Member Announcement
NCTA WELCOMES ITS NEWEST MEMBERS!
T
he board of directors of the National Coal Transportation Association is pleased to announce that the applications for membership in NCTA of the following coal industry participants were approved. They join NCTA’s existing member companies working every day through NCTA to foster the cooperation needed to resolve issues faced by coal consumers, coal producers, transporters, rail equipment manufacturers. and services companies. A complete list of NCTA member companies can be found on NCTA Web site: www.nationalcoaltransportation.org/membership/members.html
20 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Alpha Products, Incorporated Appalachian Railcar Services, Inc. Cooper T. Smith Metro East Industries, Inc. St. James Stevedoring Partners, LLC. T. Parker Host, Inc. WestRail Xcoal Energy & Resources
Infrastructure / McDuffie Coal Terminal
MCDUFFIE COA Port of Mobile, Alabama By Dave Gambrel
New Loading Record at McDuffie. The ship NORFOLK was loaded with a record 126, 404 metric tons of Blue Creek coal in early October, 2011 by Jim Walter Resources, setting a new record for tonnage loaded into one vessel at McDuffie.
22 | COAL TRANSPORTER
A
labama State Port Authority’s (ASPA’s) McDuffie Coal Terminal is the second largest coal terminal in the United States and the largest import coal terminal. The entire terminal covers an area of 556 acres. McDuffie is chiefly used for exporting metallurgical coal, primarily because export markets have been focused on its metallurgical coal products for many years. While McDuffie Terminal provides about half the sales revenue for ASPA, ASPA continues to reach out to other industries for overall growth and diversification.
AL TERMINAL
The Port of Mobile is the only deepwater port in the state, and was the ninth largest by tonnage in the nation in 2008. It is located in Mobile, Alabama along the Mobile River where it empties into Mobile Bay. The Port has public deepwater terminals with direct access to 1,500 miles of inland and intra-coastal waterways serving the Great Lakes, the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys (via the TennesseeTombigbee Waterway), and the Gulf of Mexico. The Mobile Deepwater Channel is dredged to a depth of 45’. ASPA has announced $360M to be spent over five years to improve infrastructure at the port. Improvements include land acquisition, new rail and inter-modal yards, cargo terminal improvements and enhancements to improve servicing of deep-water oil and gas field vessels and equipment. Since 2000 ASPA has
undergone nearly $700M in capital improvements and expansion projects to serve containerized, bulk and break bulk commodities. Improvements include a new rail ferry terminal, steel terminal to service ThyssenKrupp Steel USA’s new $4.6 billion steel facility in Calvert, Alabama, new warehousing, a new container terminal, and expansions at McDuffie. The Port of Mobile has an estimated state wide economic impact approaching $8 billion annually. In 2008, the Port of Mobile had a trade volume of 67,635,501 tons. The Port of Mobile is the largest break bulk forest products port in the United States. Ports often own the land on which most of the terminals are built, leasing it to the terminal owners on a long term basis (the Port of Los Angeles is a good example of this). The Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA) owns and operates the public terminals at the Port of Mobile. The public terminals handle containerized, bulk, break-bulk, roll-on/roll-off,
and heavy lift cargoes. Several publicprivate partnerships have sprung up over recent years. ASPA is leasing its grain elevator to Des Moines, Iowa-based Farmers Grain Dealers, and is partnering with APM Terminals (A.P.Moeller-Maersk) at the $300 million Mobile Container Terminal. There are in fact three coal terminals at the Port of Mobile, McDuffie Island Coal Terminal, the Port Authority’s Bulk Material Handling Plant, and Blue Creek Coal Terminal, which is owned by Walter Energy Company. Currently inactive, Blue Creek was formerly owned by Warrior & Gulf Navigation, and was equipped to off-load iron ore. Walter Energy purchased the idled terminal for $35 million, and will reconfigure it to export the Yellow Creek coal production when Walter Energy brings it fully online, possibly in late 2012 or early 2013. It is expected to handle 3-5 million mt of met coal when complete. The Bulk Material Handling Plant is currently used for transloading from rail to barge for coastal utilities, but has the capability of handling export coal. McDuffie Island is located at the south end of the Port of Mobile; Blue Creek Coal Terminal is located just north of McDuffie. The Bulk Plant is located at the north end of the Port. Walter Energy presently exports all of its Alabama coal— about 7-8 million mt in 2011—through McDuffie terminal. COAL TRANSPORTER | 23
#2 Tandem Rotary Car Dump. Those familiar with rail car dumps will notice something different with this one: it is not covered by a shed. It is a fully automatic car dump, being pulled through the dumper and dumping two cars at a time while still connected to the unit train. A single car dumper is located across the stockpiles.
McDuffie Coal Terminal-Export Coal Coal accounts for two-thirds of ASPA’s revenue tonnage. With a total throughput capacity of more than 20 million tons, in 2010 the terminal handled a total coal tonnage of 15.6 million tons, including imports. Total port tonnage that year was 23.4 million tons, including containers and metal-related products. McDuffie Terminal has two shiploaders, only one of which is currently operating. The inoperable loader will be replaced this fall with a new one currently being built by ZPMC. The Terminal has room for two shiploaders on 1900 feet of berth space. Since it is located on the Mobile Ship Channel, it can load vessels capable of operating in 45’ of brackish water. This takes into account the smaller Capesize and the newer category of ship known as the post-Panamax vessel. Coal for exporting is brought into the terminal by rail or by barge. There is one tandem rail car dump and one single rail car dump. There are two barge unloaders and three barge loaders. There are four loop tracks around the facility for ease of coal car handling. Ground capacity for coal storage is 2.3 million tons on a base of sand and coal fines. Coal is moved into and out of storage by the use of six stacker/reclaimers, three of which are fairly new. There are two automatic samplers. When positioned on the berth for loading, a ship may be loaded by reclaiming coal from the stockpiles, or it may be loaded directly from a coal train being dumped at the nearby automatic tandem car dumper, direct from barge, or a combination of the three. Coal may be placed in the stockpile from the rail car dumps, or it may arrive in barges at the back side of the island and be unloaded to ground by one of the two barge unloaders operating there. There is also a barge loader. Most of the Walter Energy coal arrives via CSX railroad; the Drummond Coal from 24 | COAL TRANSPORTER
its Shoal Creek Mine arrives via barge. Two projects are planned which will increase the export capacity of McDuffie Terminal. Drummond Coal and Walter Energy will foot the bill for a $9.5 million expansion project. They will pay for it by accepting a surcharge on top of the fees they normally pay for exporting coal through the Terminal. This includes paying for a new shiploader to be built by Shanghai-based ZPMC. These improvements would increase the coal exporting capacity from 10-12 million tons annually to about 15-18 million tons annually. ASPA has in place a Bulk Division Tariff No. 2 covering rates, rules, and regulations governing services at the bulk division facilities. As of October 1, 2011 handling charges, including wharfage for coal at McDuffie and BMHP would be $6.13 per net ton for coal moving from barge, railcar, truck, or transit area or shipside storage area to vessel. For coal moving from vessel to barge, railcar, truck, or transit area or shipside storage area the charge would be $6.28 per net ton. These rates apply to all non-contract shippers. For those shippers under contract, such as Drummond and Jim Walter Resources, they will continue to pay a rate that is $2.00 less. The $2.00 rate increase took place earlier in the year to give ASPA a share of higher coal prices available in the export market.
McDuffie Coal Terminal-Import Coal For many years McDuffie operated as a conventional export coal terminal. However, to serve the coal needs of Gulf Power, it became necessary in the early 90’s to off-load coal ships, blend it with railed-in Illinois coal, and load the blend into barges that would be towed to Gulf Power’s Crist Plant. The import coal came from South America in Panamax vessels. McDuffie now serves two primary export customers, Drummond Coal and Jim
Walter Resources, and one primary import customer, Southern Company. While a few other terminals (e.g., CSX in Baltimore) have the capability of importing coal, McDuffie is possibly the largest and most diverse coal importing terminal in the USA. The import coal terminal was located at the north end of the Port of Mobile at the confluence of the Mobile River and Three Mile Creek, 32 miles from the Gulf. It is known as the Bulk Materials Handling Plant (BHMP). There are two berths on a 1564’ pier at BMHP. Depth alongside is 45’. The maximum beam of a ship that can be worked over side is 72’. Ground storage will accommodate 400,000 tons, and covered storage is available for another 100,000 tons. The two tower unloaders are 75’ above the water at mean low water. They are rail-mounted gantry cranes with 12-15 yard buckets. BMHP can achieve unloading speeds of 1500 tons per hour, depending on the cargo. More recently the export berth on McDuffie Island has been equipped with ship unloaders and coal storage space so that ships may be unloaded at McDuffie Island. The coal storage area for import coal, which is located between the railroad tracks and the channel, is equipped to load barges directly.
Terminal Railway
The Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks (TASD) is a terminal railway operating on about 75 miles of track, and is a subsidiary of ASPA. It connects in Mobile with BNSF, CSX, CN/IC, and NS railroads, giving McDuffie Terminal rail access to coal fields in Central Appalachia, Illinois Basin, Powder River Basin, Utah, and Wyoming. TASD operates ten EMD MP15 switcher locomotives, and has a fleet of 100 freight cars. While the railroad is quite useful to the coal operation, TASD hauls numerous types of cargo as it services the port, its terminals and nearby industry.
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Barge Service
too high for McDuffie to Much of coal delivered to the be an economically viable terminal for export is hauled choice. This model began to by barge. The premier barge change a bit when Galatia companies are Parker Towing, (Illinois) coal began railWarrior & Gulf, Marquette, and shipping coal to McDuffie Crounse. These companies also for blending and reshipment in the early nineties. provide barge service to one of Now, due to higher prices the terminal’s main customers, ZPMC Stacker Reclaimer. This stacker/reclaimer is one of three available on the export marSouthern Company. Both export recently added to increase the throughput rate of the terminal. ket, rail rates to McDuffie and import coals are staged at are more competitive, and McDuffie for final delivery to the terminal is able to reach out to coal Gulf Power’s Crist and Smith Plants, In 2010 Jim Walter Resources produced producers as far away as Utah. Coal is Mississippi Power’s Watson Plant, and Ala6,478,200 tons at its two underground originated in Utah, hauled to Memphis by bama Power’s Barry, all by barge delivery. mines in Tuscaloosa County. Drummond Union Pacific, transferred to CN Rail in produced 2,972,500 tons at its surface and Memphis, and CN hauls it to McDuffie. Sources of Coal underground mines. These two compaGalatia continues to ship Illinois Basin The state of Alabama produces some of nies accounted for 42% of the state’s coal coal via CN Rail to McDuffie, and Central the finest metallurgical coal in the world. production, and a higher percentage of its Appalachia coal is shipped to McDuffie In 2010 total coal production for the coal exports. They are recognized as one of via CSX. The terminal aggressively pursues state was 20,277,000 tons, as compared the main driving forces at McDuffie. new sources, and continues to improve its with production of 29,030,000 tons in For many years McDuffie existed facilities to encourage new users. 1990. While these figures contain both for the primary purpose of exporting While McDuffie continues to focus steam and metallurgical coals, the chief Alabama coal, and some might argue that on export facilities, it cannot ignore the export has been metallurgical coal. Two its primary purpose is unchanged. Long fact that coal imports can be a significant producers, Jim Walter Resources, and distances from other coal fields such as part of its revenue stream. It continues to Drummond Coal, have accounted for a Central Appalachia, Illinois Basin, and receive import coals for Alabama Power large proportion of export coal tonnage. western coal fields simply made rail rates
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and Gulf Power, even though import tonnages are down significantly due to the availability of cheap natural gas. It once imported 12 million tons per year, and is down to about 3 million tons.
Reaching McDuffie Island from the Gulf A ship sailing north into Mobile Bay in the Deep Water Channel will see the shiploader and conveyor system of McDuffie Island to port shortly after crossing 38 degrees latitude. The upper bay turning basin lies another two degrees ahead, just beyond Little Sand Island to starboard. Â Vessels whose dimensions are 850 feet x 135 feet or greater require daylight turning in the Bay. Ships entering McDuffie Island for loading will come alongside parallel to the dock, which runs parallel to the flow of the Deep Water Channel. There are three loading berths at McDuffie. When loading is complete, ships that have turned may cast off lines and head directly into the Gulf under pilot guidance. Import ships that have been unloaded will have to proceed to the
turning basin to be turned. The Gulf is about three hours away across Mobile Bay. No further ship maneuvering is required.
The Bar Pilots
The Alabama Legislature authorized the building of the Alabama State Docks in 1923. Until that time, the port was a mixture of private and city owned docks. Modernization was needed, and only the state had the necessary capital available to do the job. The Seaport Act of 1927 placed the Mobile Bar and Bay Pilots Association under the jurisdiction of the Alabama State Docks Commission. After much lobbying, the legislature removed the pilots from the jurisdiction of the State Docks. On March 9, 1931 the twentytwo pilots met at the Master, Mate, and Pilots Union Hall and formed the modern Mobile Bar Pilots Association. Because ships were now only using
one pilot to reach port, the Association had too many pilots. The pilots decided not to replace retiring pilots and their number gradually declined to fifteen. During World War II, the pilots were given commissions as officers in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Shortly after the war, the masts were removed from the pilot boat Alabama. The old sailboat was now kept at anchor at the sea buoy. Because of improved communications, staying at the sea buoy was unnecessary. The organization looked for a new way to station the pilots. On September 15, 1965 the pilots opened their new pilot station on Dauphin Island and the old wooden sailing vessel Alabama was retired. Today the pilots still operate out of Dauphin Island. Two launches are stationed there to ferry pilots to and from the ships. The only change since 1965 is their name. They became the Mobile Bar Pilots, LLC. s
Dave Gambrel is the president of Logisticon, a coal transportation consultancy. He was senior transportation executive of a major mining company for 15 years, and served on the DTA Management Committee for ten years. He was a member of the USA component of the LAXT negotiating team, and formerly chaired the Western Coal Transportation Association. Email: bunkgambrel@earthlink.net or david.gambrel@gmail.com
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is a not-for-profit corporation that provides coal procurement, rail transportation and rail car management services to cooperatives, municipalities and other consumer and investor-owned utilities. We promote and protect member interests with volume driven contracting, comprehensive and cost effective fuel chain management, a time-tested staff and the strength of collective advocacy. Put Western Fuels to work for you. To discuss the benefits of membership or to review the full list of services available from Western Fuels, please contact us at 303-255-5815, or visit us at www.westernfuels.org
COAL TRANSPORTER | 27
NCTA 2012 Spring Conference / Preview
NCTA 2012 Spring Conference The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
April 15-18, 2012
T
he NCTA is pleased to be hosting its 2012 Spring Conference at the Greenbrier, another oneof-a-kind five-star resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Known as America’s Resort, the Greenbrier has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. With its classic architecture, exquisite interior design, carefully sculpted landscape, impeccable service, and outstanding amenities, the Greenbrier has hosted 26 presidents, as well as royalty and celebrities from around the world since 1778. For those who come to network, the Greenbrier’s seemingly endless series of parlors provide the most comfortable and abundant seating the NCTA has
28 | COAL TRANSPORTER
ever offered. In addition to the grand parlors, every nook, cranny, hallway, and elevator lobby also serves as an elegant spot to do business. Although not by design, everywhere the NCTA goes seems to have ties to transportation and mining. For much of its history, the Greenbrier was owned by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and its successors, most recently the CSX Corporation. In 2009, local entrepreneur Jim Justice bought the property. He subsequently purchased the Tennessee based National Coal Corp. marking a return to the coal business as well. The conference will cover the state of the coal supply, electric utility, rail carrier, and barge industries as viewed by top
management. At press time all the speakers on the agenda had yet to be confirmed. Those who have confirmed include Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel Elliott III, Kevin Crutchfield, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Natural Resources, and Pat Ottensmeyer, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing for the Kansas City Southern. Last year’s appearance at the Broadmoor of Montana Governor Schweitzer was well received so several prominent politicians with an interest in coal have been invited to attend this year’s event. The agenda will include insight from senior railroad and marine transportation executives, and presentations addressing fuel forecasts and important challenges to the industry.
REGISTRATION
Registration is required for each attendee at the NCTA Spring Meeting. The fee is $525.00 for attendees representing a member company and $675.00 for all other attendees when registering prior to March 16, 2012. After March 16th, an additional $50 fee will apply for all late registrants. All registrations by a nonmember company for more than three individuals will be registered at the member rate. There is a fee of $85.00 for spouses and guests attending the dinner on Monday evening. Due to the generous donations of our conference sponsors, the fee to participate in the 16th Annual NCTA Golf Tournament is only $90.00.
ACCOMMODATIONS
This year’s hotel insider tip for the Greenbrier is “Prepare to be Amazed”. If staying a couple of nights at the Greenbrier is not on your bucket list, you either have already stayed there or you just don’t get the concept. On 6,500 acres surrounded by the wondrous Allegheny Mountains, the Greenbrier is regarded as one of the world’s finest luxury resorts. It offers three championship golf courses, fine dining, more than 50 activities, boutiques, and a world-class spa. The 16th Annual NCTA golf tournament will be played on the Greenbrier’s Meadows Course on Monday, April 16th. Perhaps the most interesting attraction at the Greenbrier is its underground bunker created to house members of Congress in the event of nuclear war. Constructed during the Eisenhower Administration, the two football field sized facility was a secret until it was
leaked by the Washington Post in 1992. For the non-golfers in the group, we are pleased to offer a tour of the bunker as an optional activity on Monday afternoon. The Greenbrier is located at 300 W. Main Street, White Sulphur Springs, WV 24986.
RESERVATIONS: 1-800-453-4858 ROOM RATES PER DAY:
$199.00/day Single/Double Room Room rates are European plan and do not include West Virginia State tax of 6% and 3% occupancy taxes or the resort fee of $20/day. The resort fee includes morning coffee service, afternoon tea, historic tours, fitness center, wireless internet, cyber cafes, and select recreational activities. The block cutoff date for guaranteed reservations is March 16th. s
COAL TRANSPORTER | 29
NCTA 2012 Spring Conference / Agenda
2012 Spring Conference Agenda Sunday, April 15
Tuesday, April 17
5:30pm - 6:30pm Welcome Reception for Early Arrivals – Colonial Lounge & Terrace
7:00am - 8:00am Continental Breakfast - Chesapeake Room
Monday, April 16
8:00am - Noon
General Session - Chesapeake Room
Lunch
Individual Arrangement
8:00am - 11:30am NCTA Board of Directors Meeting – Tyler Room
1:30pm - 4:00pm
Breakout Sessions/Working Groups – Hayes Room
12:30pm - 5:00pm Golf Tournament – Meadows Course
7:00am - 8:00am Continental Breakfast - Chesapeake Room
4:00pm - 6:00pm Registration – Pierce Room 7:00pm - 9:30pm NCTA Dinner – Chesapeake Room
30 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Wednesday, April 18 8:00am - Noon
General Session - Chesapeake Room
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NCTA Technology Upgrade / Website for the Internet Challenged
The NCTA Website
By Pat Scherzinger, NCTA Communications Director
for the Internet Challenged
I
n September the NCTA rolled out a new website for its members. In doing so it had many benefits to members in mind - include new content, make things easier to find, allow more interaction, and add some pizzazz! It is up to you to decide if these goals have been met.
NEW CONTENT
What good is a new site if there is nothing new to see? One of the biggest additions in the public portion of the website is a section devoted to the Coal Transporter. The magazine is now available in digital format for online viewing. Currently issues from 2010 and 2011 are posted. We will be adding to our library as new issues are published. Need to take a look at that summary of AAR Rule 41 or that piece on the Dominion Terminal and can’t find your copy? No problem, just find it online.
32 | COAL TRANSPORTER
The section also includes: editorial deadlines; advertising rates,sizes, and deadlines; and contact information for the editor, designer, and ad sales manager. Another major addition to the website is a discussion forum in the members section of the website. This is an area where members can: create their own website content; list or search for lease equipment; get information on service issues; find and post advice on maintenance issues; provide feedback on NCTA events; and submit suggestions for speakers or editorial content. The long term key to the success of this new feature will be a critical mass of users. So please continue reading this article to learn more about the changes, review the “how to” sidebar, and to go to the website to start using the forum.
MAKING IT EASIER TO FIND THINGS
The overall structure of the website is not that much different than before. One of the main reasons that members go to the website is to a register for a conference. Each event that requires registration will be listed on the calendar and also has its own web page. To make things even easier, new graphics will guide users to where they need to be to get registered. For any active event, visitors will find a graphic on the site’s home page. NCTA Committee information will now be much easier to find as the four member driven committees now each have a page in their own section. Over time, we will be refreshing the content to more closely track the active initiatives if the committees. In the old site the committees were buried under the events tab so now they are much easier to find. The membership section contains the criteria for being a member, the benefits of membership, a listing of NCTA Board Members, and a complete list of current member organizations, all hot-linked to their corporate/organization websites. Prospective members can even fill an application out online. In the scholarship section, you will find information on both the Association’s university scholarship program and scholarships for the children of employees of member companies. Click on the colorful graphics to download a scholarship application or to donate to the scholarship endowment. Although technically not easier to find, the conference presentations in the Members Only archive section are now easier to download. Presentations from all 2010 and 2011 conferences are archived and presentations back to 2005 will be added as time allows. Just select the presentation you want and click the download button to save it to your hard drive.
MORE INTERACTION
There are two changes in the Members Only section that will allow the user interaction. The first involves member contact information. If you are the NCTA designated representative of your organization, you will now be able to update your own contact information. Since it is the Members Section the information is not available to the public, only to those who have registered and been approved for access to this section. So if you get a promotion, change office locations, or get a new phone number, please update your information. The second change is the addition of the member forum discussed briefly in the new content section. There is some real potential in this forum in terms of value to NCTA members. If you have a problem with your computer and go to the Microsoft website to find a solution, dance a gig right now. What, no one is dancing? Everyone knows that to find how to fix your problem, you need to find a good discussion board where someone else had the same problem and the community helped find a solution. By putting our heads together, we can not only solve problems, but we can avoid pitfalls, share best practices, get clued in to tips and tricks of the trade, and become better educated. The forum has three levels of organization - sections, categories, and topics. The highest level of organization is the section level. Currently the site has five sections created and managed by the Communications Director. New sections are easy to add so if additional sections are needed just let us know. COAL TRANSPORTER | 33
• NCTA General Discussion • Eastern Logistics and Planning Committee • Western Logistics and Planning Committee • Operations and Maintenance • Railcar Leasing Within each section there are multiple categories also created by the NCTA. New ones will be added as needed. The key is to have enough sections to focus the discussions, but not so many that it is difficult to find what you are looking for. The simplest example is the Railcar Leasing section that has two categories, Railcars Wanted and Railcars Available. The final level of organization is the topic level. Members are free to create topics as well as reply to an already established topic. Often you will hear people on discussion boards referring to “posts”. Both the message that creates a new topic and a reply to an existing topic would be considered posts. In the Railcar Leasing example above, you may see something promising and reply to a topic post for available cars in one category and also create a new topic letting people know you are looking for cars. See the sidebar for the basics on replying to a topic, creating a new topic, and editing any of your own posts on the discussion forum.
MORE PIZZAZZ
The website took a huge step forward in the pizzazz department with the new design. While the structure and content was generated internally by NCTA, the underlying mechanics and the vibrant graphics were created by Suckerpunch Creative out of Winnipeg, Canada who also does the design work for the Coal Transporter. The color and movement of the rotator graphics enhances the web experience and increases awareness of programs and events. We have plans in place to keep the graphics refreshed and to replace some of the stock images currently used in the banners with images of actual NCTA committees at work and images of member facilities. If you have any images you can share for use on the website or in the Coal Transporter, please let us know. Like maintaining a house, a website is never finished. A house always needs a new coat of paint, something gets broken that needs fixing, or an addition is required to make room for that new hobby you just took up. The NCTA website will always need some work, but regardless, we hope you pull up a chair and make yourself at home there while on the internet. We welcome your feedback on the changes and your ideas on how to make the site a better resource for all NCTA members. s
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NCTA Member Forum Basics Reply to an existing topic There are a couple of ways to reply to an existing topic. With the standard reply button, the subject line of your reply will auto fill with the subject of the topic from which you are replying. You can change the subject if you want. The text box will allow you to format your text, add links, images, smilies, etc. Type a response and press the ‘Preview’ button at the bottom of the page if you wish to view your work prior to submitting it. When you are done editing and are satisfied your reply is ready to be posted to the forum then press the ‘Submit’ button. If you wish to quote someone’s topic whether in whole or in part, you use the quote button instead of the reply button. This very useful if you wish to make reference to something in the prior post. Once you press the Quote button you are brought into the same editing environment that you use to edit or create any other post. At this point, you type your response directly to that quote. When you are 2REB Dist Train Frght 1 done replying, press theCar1_2p2011_Layout ‘Submit’ button.
Editing your own post Creating a new topic Navigate to and select the appropriate category that your topic should appear in. You should see the list of all of the existing topics within that category. At the top of the list is a button labeled ‘New Topic’. Click that button to start your very own topic. You are placed at the same text editor that you used earlier when replying to posts. Simply type your message and press ‘Submit’. Now you have your own topic included in the list.
3/1/11 11:43 AM Page 1
The Railway Educational Bureau (REB) offers independent study courses covering: • Freight car inspection and repair • Locomotive electrical and mechanical repair • Locomotive operation • Track maintenance • Basic railroad foundation • Metal trades • More!
There will be times when you post something either as a reply or a new topic and you need to fix a misspelled word, a broken link, or add something that will require you to edit you post. It happens to us all so the edit button is easily accessible. When you are looking at one of your own posts that you need to edit you will find the ‘Edit’ button at the bottom of your post. Simply press the edit button and you use the same editor you used to create your post populated with the actual post. Edit your post as you see fit and, when you are satisfied, press the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page. All done! s
Independent Study courses offer you the ability to: • Enhance existing training programs • Present theory, techniques and knowledge to your employees • Standardize training for improved efficiency • Manage and document employees’ training • Eliminate training development costs • Provide cost effective training for your maintenance personnel
NCTA members receive a 20% discount off our lesson processing fee. Please call for more information. Mention “NCTA” to receive your discount.
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NCTA COMMITTEE
UPDATES Eastern Logistics & Planning
The Eastern L&P Committee met on October 27, 2011 at the Cambria Suites Pittsburgh at CONSOL Energy Center. Railroad updates were provided by Jack Burgess of CSX, Kris Sandlin of Norfolk Southern, and Greg Phelps of the Paducah & Louisville Railway. John McManus, Vice President of Environmental Services for American Electric Power, provided an update related to the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), its uncertainties, and potential affects on electric utilities and related industries. George Owens, Vice President of Human Resources for Alpha Natural Resources, presented information and examples of the educational and competitive programs sponsored by Cedar, Inc. for school age children. These programs are designed to educate the children, their families, and the community and should foster more positive attitudes toward the coal industry. Finally, Phil Poletti, Vice President, Business Development for
Operations and Maintenance
The Operations & Maintenance Committee is hard at work preparing for its annual conference to be held this year in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Invitations have been sent out to potential presenters and plans are to have panel discussions to facilitate more interaction among the attendees. The roundtable will follow the same pattern as 2011 with a bifurcated session. See the conference preview section for details on all the conference events. Two webinars were held since the last issue of the Coal Transporter was published. In October, Todd Crawford of TrinityRail and Jim Hart of FreightCar America covered the proper use of thaw sheds. In late February, Ed Strelecky and Jim Flanagan of RAS Data Systems and Carol Scarborough of FreightCar Rail 40 | COAL TRANSPORTER
NCTA Committee work is at the heart of the Association. The committees provide valuable information and education to members, foster best practices, improve communications among the parties, and keep members up-to-date on new rulings and technologies. This is where members get payback many times over for their annual membership fees.
Crown Products and Services, presented background information on how the issue of dust mitigation became a hot topic in the West, discussed the various possible methods for controlling dust on railcars, and then explained what implications this issue may have for Eastern coal shippers in the future. A post meeting survey provided good feedback for future topics and speakers, locations for future meetings, and some potential Audience Response Questions to prompt discussion. Once again, CONSOL Energy was kind enough to host the group for a Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders game at the CONSOL Energy Center just steps away from the hotel. Preliminary planning and discussions are underway for a Spring 2012 EL&P meeting to be held May 17 in New Orleans, along with lunch and a tour of AEP River Operations’ Convent facilities. s
Services, all third party back office data systems fleet managers, reviewed 2012 AAR Rule Changes. The recently formed Technical Review Committee held its first meeting via teleconference in December. The Technical Advisory Review Committee is headed by Jerry Bohacik of GATX. There
Bob Braithwaite at CONSOL’s event
was a great response from members to work on technical issues. This committee will look at AAR Circulars, how AAR rule changes impact coal railcar fleets and will facilitate the collection of fleet data from NCTA Members. Several members of the O&M Executive Committee met with James Grady (Assistant VP of Technical Services) of the AAR as part of the NCTA’s annual trip to Washington DC. The group discussed a variety of issues important to members at that session and in a follow-up Valentine’s Day conference call. s
Jerry Bohacik, here with Kurt Stroer, heads up the O&M Technical Review Committee
Andy Schroder gives a UP update at NV Energy in Las Vegas.
Western Logistics & Planning
The Western Logistics & Planning Committee continues to be the toast of its utility members. The Committee met in August in Kansas City Power & Light’s offices in Kansas City, Missouri and again this past month in the offices of NV Energy in Las Vegas, Nevada. Railroad updates at both events were provided by Andy Schroder for the Union Pacific and Will Cunningham of the BNSF. Both the UP and BNSF have been working on improvements to their Mobile Web sites and enhancements to their forecasting web pages. In Kansas City, Robynn Andrascek, P.E. Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. provided and update on the CSAPR rules. She presented several “models” of various plants and how the CSAPR rules will impact them. Robert Lambrect, General Engineer with the Federal Railroad Administration discussed the advantages EPC brakes. The recent BNSF tariff on dust mitigation remains an important issue to members. In Las Vegas, Shahzad Lateef, P.E.of NV Energy let the group know
what it takes to keep the lights on in Las Vegas. Chris Duke of Enserco Energy, and Greg Key of Ameren Energy, discussed the OTC Process. The WL&P is working to increase the amount of utilities that forecast more than one month at a time. The goal is to get all utilities to forecast at least three months out on the NCTA Forecast railroad websites. The committee also supporting the development of the carrier’s mobile apps by beta testing and providing feedback. The next meeting will be in late July in Minneapolis, Minnesota. s
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COAL TRANSPORTER | 41
Maintenance Issues / Wheels AAR Arbitration and Rules Committee Members inspect the installation of the remote handbrake monitoring device.
Handbrakes; Wheelsets; and Accountability Who’s Stuck A with the Bill? Peter L. Jones Vice President, Operations
David Kerr Director of Marketing
MITSUI RAIL CAPITAL, LLC 42 | COAL TRANSPORTER
lmost from the time the first handbrake was installed on a railcar, people have been forgetting to release the brake before moving a car. The reasons behind this are almost never malicious, but instead are usually the result of someone overlooking the proper steps required to ensure a railcar is ready to move. This truly is an age old problem with some rather severe consequences. Those consequences add up to hundreds of millions of dollars per year in wheel replacement costs that would otherwise not be spent. In addition, time out of service for repairs that were otherwise not necessary results in delays and further costs to shippers and railcar owners. Moving a railcar with handbrakes applied will cause the wheel to slide along the rail rather than roll along as it was meant to, and produces intense heat followed by cooling, which in turn causes a martensitic transformation of the steel on the wheel’s surface. This can happen in a surprisingly short distance. A railcar sliding for just a second can cause enough heat to damage the wheel. This martensitic transformation adversely affects the structure of the steel at the spot where the sliding occurred and spalling of the steel will result. Spalling on the wheel tread of even an inch in length will cause the wheel to be condemned with replacement as the only option. Worse, if the condition is not detected, the spalling can cause the wheel to fail, with potential catastrophic consequences. At minimum, the undetected flat spot can cause damage to the
railcar, its lading, and to the rail. In 2006, more than 350,000 wheelsets were replaced at a cost to railcar owners of more than $350 million. With the rising costs of wheel sets and labor, that figure has grown significantly. The vast majority of these costs have been borne by the railcar owner, though in fact, the actions of the railcar owner had very little to do with the underlying cause of most of the damage. Like all responsible railcar owners, Mitsui Rail Capital (MRC) wants to understand the causes and effects of incorrect railcar handling and to prevent damage from occurring. Acknowledging the problem, in 2007 the Transport and Technology Center of the AAR produced a very detailed video detailing the causes of wheel spalling, with special emphasis on improper handbrake usage, and urging those connected with moving railcars to pay close attention to handbrakes before moving a car. While 100% adherence to the proper release of handbrakes before moving a car is an obvious goal, we all recognize that mistakes do occur, and that complete prevention can only be partly
attained. Because of this, Mitsui and other owners believe that an equitable system of accountability be established so that those responsible for damage share in the costs of repair. To better understand the depth of the handbrake problem, MRC set out to investigate the causes of wheel damage. An examination of repairs made between June 2005 and January 2009, to 500 intermodal cars, which have handbrakes that only act upon the B-end of the cars, showed an extreme difference in the wheelsets requiring repairs between the A and the B end. The repair data showed that 93.5% of wheelsets replaced were on the B-end. Additionally there were 260 open EHMS WILD alerts, with 242 related to the B end versus just 18 related to the A end of the car. MRC had the railcar builder and the manufacturer of the brake systems inspect the cars for defects. No mechanical issues with the cars or brake systems were found. To get at the root cause, in 2009 working with Lat-Lon, LLC, MRC began outfitting twenty intermodal cars with monitoring sensors designed to detect handbrake usage. In just the first few
Handbrake Off months of use, the monitors recorded eighty events where the twenty cars were moved with the handbrakes still applied. Clearly, handbrakes are continuing to be left applied when cars are moved and clearly there is a very strong, very direct correlation between this and the incidence of wheelset replacements due to high-kip WILD readings. MRC has submitted these results to the AAR Arbitration and Rules Committee and has asked the committee for a change in the current Rule 95 and Rule 41 to reflect the fact that improper handling is causing wheel damage, and causing railcar owners to suffer significant repair costs through damage caused by others.
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• The monitoring system does not rely on a The Rules Committee has assigned load cell. The system simply detects that a a TAG to further investigate the issue handbrake was applied and then records if a and to consider any changes to Rules 41 valid attempt (human interaction) was made and 95 that would allow car owners to to release the handbrake following the aprecover costs associated with wheel damplication before the car is moved. age brought about by improper handbrake • The AAR’s own video, “Please Release Me… use. In 2010 the ARB committee was Let Me Roll”, produced in 2001 and updated given access to view the monitor results in 2007 and based on the TTCI’s findings for five additional MRC cars that have go a long way to outlining the causes. been outfitted with monitors. The results Lat-Lon Remote Monitoring Unit • Class I railroads utilize WILD detection since have shown that all five cars experisystems everyday to bill owners for repairs. enced moves with handbrakes applied. Currently the TAG that was apThe Arbitration and Rules Committee has indicated that any pointed has now forwarded MRC’s proposal to the AAR EEC and proponent of remote monitoring equipment should be responWABL committees for their review and comment. EEC did not sible for developing standards for the intended devices as well as approve the proposed rule change and has requested that more ongoing maintenance and calibration of the devices. studies be undertaken to address their following concerns: The AAR’s Technical Services Working Committee • How to determine if the damage was done at a shipper (TSWC) has established a new committee, “Rules and Stanlocation. dards” which will now be charged with following up on the • How to discern if the handbrake was partially applied and MRC proposal. caused damage, even if load cell showed zero applied. • Define criteria on what is needed to cause wheel damage. All railcar owners should be taking steps to become involved in finding a resolution to this issue and to help develop • Determine if use of detectors is acceptable to address rule equitable rules which properly compensate owners for the everchanges and billing issues. increasing costs which they are incurring due to damage caused by others. If you agree with this position and direction, your In answer to these issues, we offer the following: comments should be directed to the Executive Director of AAR • GPS in conjunction with affixed monitoring systems record and the AAR Arbitration and Rules Committee. s precisely where cars were moved with handbrakes still applied.
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NCTA 2012 Operations and Maintenance Conference / Preview
Hershey Lodge, Hershey, Pennsylvania June 11-13, 2012
46 | COAL TRANSPORTER
N
CTA Operations & Maintenance Committee will hold its annual conference June 11-13, 2012 at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Come prepared for a taste of the sweet life where streetlights are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses, Chocolate Avenue meets Cocoa Avenue, and the air is often filled with the wonderful aroma of chocolate! Tucked in the rolling hills of Central Pennsylvania, this idyllic location offers the latest in hospitality coupled with the traditions of one of America’s original success stories. In enjoying this unique location, we can for once be thankful that someone’s mining career just didn’t work out. In 1882, Milton S. Hershey traveled west with his father, with plans to take part in the silver mining boom. Instead of mining, Hershey took a job with a candy maker who taught him how to improve the flavor and shelflife of chocolate. Ultimately it was here in what is now Hershey, Pennsylvania that Milton Hershey opened the world’s first
modern chocolate factory in 1905. His vision included a thriving community and so he built a “model town” to provide his employees and their families with an attractive and comfortable place to live, work, and play. Today the Milton Hershey School, Hersheypark, ZooAmerica, and many more Hershey attractions are lasting monuments to Mr. Hershey’s legacy. The conference will have nearly 10 hours of plenary sessions dedicated to covering the technology, design, maintenance, operations, and repair of railcars in unit train service. We will continue our longstanding tradition of hosting a private car owner roundtable discussion. The roundtable will follow the same pattern as last year with morning session opened to voting members and the afternoon session including all NCTA members. The conference will feature all the usual events including an opening night reception, continental breakfast, dinner for attendees and guests on Tuesday evening, and will conclude with the annual golf tournament.
Monday, June 11
Tuesday, June 12
9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Private Car Owners Roundtable – Voting Members Lunch by Individual Arrangement Optional Amsted Facility Tour Welcoming Reception
7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Continental Breakfast Private Car Owners Roundtable – All Members General Conference Lunch by Individual Arrangement General Conference Dinner – Hershey Hotel
Wednesday, June 13
7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
REGISTRATION
Registration is required for each attendee at the O&M conference. The conference is open to all NCTA members regardless of whether you have participated actively in the ongoing work of the O&M committee. The conference fee is $375 for members and $525 for nonmembers. After May 25th, an additional fee of $50 will be added for late registrants. The registration fee covers the registration packet of information, admission to all meeting proceedings, the welcoming reception on Monday evening, continental breakfast on Tuesday and Wednesday, dinner on Tuesday night, and all refreshment breaks. There is a charge for each guest of a registrant that participates in the Tuesday dinner and for golf.
SPONSORSHIPS
Conference sponsorship opportunities are available at three levels of support -
Continental Breakfast General Conference Optional Golf Tournament at Hershey Links
Platinum $2,500, Gold $1,500, and Silver $1,000. Please contact Tom Canter at 303-979-2798 or by email to tom@ nationalcoaltransportation.org for additional details on sponsorships and company recognition.
ACCOMMODATIONS
From the chocolate scented hand lotion to the kisses on your pillow, you are in for a unique experience when you enter the spacious lobby of the Hershey Lodge. With its prominent stone fireplace and abundant seating, attendees are sure to make themselves at home. The lodge is a full-service resort offering 665 guest rooms and 100,000 square feet of function space, and multiple restaurants. NCTA conference attendees will receive the following on a complimentary basis: wireless internet; daily paper; tickets to Hershey Gardens and Hershey Store Museum; and shuttle service to Hershey Park and Chocolate World. Tickets to
Hershey Park will be available on a discounted basis and include access to the park an hour prior to the public. In addition to all the nearby attractions, Hershey’s location is also ideal for exciting day trips to the many cultural, historical, educational, and entertaining attractions in the region including Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, and York.
RESERVATIONS:
717-533-3311 or 800-533-3131
ROOM RATES PER DAY: $185.00 Single/Double
The cutoff date for the NCTA room block is June 7, 2012. The guaranteed check-in time is 4:00 PM and check-out time is 11:00 am. The Hershey Lodge is located at 325 University Dr., Hershey, PA 17033. s
COAL TRANSPORTER | 47
Calendar of Events 2012 April 15-18, 2012 Spring General Conference The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia May 17, 2012 Eastern Logistics and Planning Committee Meeting Venue TBD, New Orleans, Louisiana June 11-13, 2012 Operations and Maintenance Conference Hershey Lodge, Hershey, Pennsylvania June 29, 2012 Advertising and Editorial Deadline for Issue 2 2012 of the Coal Transporter Magazine.
2013 April 14-17, 2013 Spring General Conference Westin La Paloma, Tucson, Arizona
July, 2012 Western Logistics and Planning Committee Meeting Venue TBD, Minneapolis, Minnesota Summer/Fall 2012 Presentation of NCTA Scholarship Awards: South Dakota School of Mines & Technology University of Arizona University of West Virginia University of Wyoming David L. Laffere Scholarship Three At-Large Scholarships September 10-12, 2012 Thirty-Eighth Annual Business Meeting and Conference Westin Denver Downtown, Denver, Colorado December 20, 2012 Receipt at NCTA office of all re-certification forms for the UMLER Fee Waiver for Calendar Year 2013
September 16-18, 2013 Thirty-Ninth Annual Business Meeting and Conference The Brown Palace, Denver, Colorado
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AAR Office Rules / Rule 112
Office Manual of the AAR Interchange Rules Rule 112 Overview By Adam Boyd. VP / Partner, Systems Development iIRX, LP, P.O. Box 560684, Rockledge, FL 32956 www.iirx.net
R
ule 112 of the Office Manual of the AAR Interchange Rules, “Car Repair Billing”, is an expansive rule that covers topics ranging from defect cards to exceptions as well as the criteria for the rejection of payable invoices. This overview is drawn from our experience at iIRX in processing and reviewing invoices and rebuttal billing for our clients. All parties desire accurate and fair handling of documents under Rule 112 and a thorough understanding of Rule 112 is important to all fleet managers. There are eight sections within the rule and it certainly could be argued that each section could represent its own rule:
Section A - Billing Repair Data Requirements Section B - Defect Card1 (D/C) and/or Joint Inspection Certificate2 Handling (JIC) Section C – Rebuttal Charge3 Handling Section D - Counter Billing Authority4 (CBA) Section E - Time Limits for Invoicing Section F - Preparation of Billing Statement (no longer in effect) Section G - Preparation of Invoice Section H - Invoice Processing and Auditing Regulations
“Nothing gets the attention of a billing party like the receipt of a rejected invoice per Office Manual Rule 112. What we find is that, in practice, billing parties place a priority in both: a) responding to rejected invoices for accrual purposes, and b) providing more favorable terms for reducing repair amounts.” 50 | COAL TRANSPORTER
As you can see from the above list, Rule 112 contains within it several broad subjects. As we delve deeper into the material, it will become apparent that several of the sections are lacking in definition. Understanding Rule 112 allows, and arguably mandates, the billing party to correct erroneous billing and to effectively process car repair data exchange records. One of the more significant issues
that many car owners and third party managers are dealing with presently are the requirements as laid out in Section A of Rule 112. This section specifically discusses billing repair data requirements as they relate to the 500 byte record, and more specifically, to the Car Repair Billing Procedures Manual (link: https://community.railinc.com/products/crbpricing/default.aspx). This link contains a bevy of helpful resources that can generally reduce confusion about both the Data Exchange5, (DX) schedule as well as the alltoo-familiar error codes that result from a typical data exchange file submission. It may serve you well to keep a shortcut to this site to efficiently access comprehensive Counter Repair Billing (CRB) information. Sections B and C discuss the handling of Defect Card, JIC, and Rebuttal billing charges and mostly outline the detail source codes to be used when either billing defect card damage, or rebuttal billing defect card damage. Section D outlines the Counter Billing Authority (CBA) process, including the issuing of a CBA as well as billing the issuer for payment. It’s important to note that the issuance of CBAs is still a manual process, often times involving a significant amount of paper and manual data entry. If the collecting party (billed party) is attempting to collect based on pricing errors that were revised or due to any other reason outlined by a Circular Letter, the collecting party must furnish a copy of the Circular Letter in order to substantiate their claim. Section D.3 is an example of a Rule that is not generally enforced; D.3 requires the billing (or collecting) party to provide within the data exchange file the car initial and number as well as the repair date and total for each car. For the sake of practicality, single line charges for an entire CBA are typically what we see in the data exchange. CBAs act just like normal repairs - from the time of issuance the receiving party has 12 months to bill the CBA. Also, when requesting a CBA, the billed party has 7 months from the date of receipt of the data through the data exchange to request a CBA. The repairing party has 90 days to respond to an exception letter after receipt, but notably, there is no penalty for noncompliance. However, nearly all companies will eventually respond to a CBA request, especially if they are reminded about their lack of a response via email reminders, tracer letters, and/or scheduled phone calls.
Section E covers the time limits involved with invoicing, and includes a few noteworthy points about billing limitations. Most types of repair records must be billed within 12 months of the repair date, which means that if a repair is done in June 2011, it must be included in data exchange released in early July of the following year (in this case, July of 2012). However, in the case of JIC or Defect Card repairs, the repairing party has 48 months to bill the repairs. Rebuttal charges are given 7 months from the date of receipt of the rebuttal charges from the intermediate party -- this means that in theory a rebuttal charge can be billed up to 19 months after the date of repair. Section F is no longer in use, though it retains a page as a place holder in the office manual. Section G revolves around the preparation of an invoice and has undergone some changes over the last few years that make billing and invoicing more streamlined. Each invoice must show subtotals, and must be submitted through data exchange in order to be paid. Also, the Rule clearly indicates that one company must consolidate all of their billing to another company in a single invoice each month. This means that all destroyed cars, rebuttal billing, CBAs, defect card rebuttals, etc. can only be presented on a single invoice to the billed party. Also, with the advent of ‘findus.rail’6 within the last few years, the Rules now clearly stipulate that the billing party must send the invoice either via PDF attachment to an email or the traditional mail address listed within ‘findus.rail’. The problem with this is that ‘findus.rail’ isn’t always correct, nor is it updated frequently enough to be 100% accurate. With that said, email delivery of PDF cover sheets continues to be the most frequently used method. Rule 112.G.11 is also important to note, because it requires that all cars bearing a reporting mark will be billed to their respective owners (as identified by findus.rail). All cars with a specific mark will be billed to that mark’s responsible Party, regardless of whether the responsible party actually owns the railcar.
COAL TRANSPORTER | 51
This section also offers information about how RAILINC and its website supports users’ submission of repairs for data exchange. Section H is quite possibly the most important section within Rule 112 for private car owners. It outlines the Rules for taking exceptions and rejection of payment based on the percentage of exceptions in a given invoice. If an entire invoice is improperly rendered, which is becoming nearly impossible due to the exacting specifications of Railinc’s rules engine for repair data submissions, the billed party can reject the invoice in its entirety based on Rule 112.H.1.b. NOTE: Rule 112.H.3 represents the most effective way to reduce paying for billing errors. Depending on the amount of the invoice, the percentage of billing in error required changes. For invoices $10,000 and less, 10% of the invoice must be in error to reject payment. When an invoice is between $10,001 and $200,000 the percentage drops to 7.5%; when an invoice is over $200,000, it drops even further down to only 5%. This Rule, which outlines the criteria for rejecting an invoice, is surprisingly underutilized by PCOs7. Every payable invoice needs to be considered a candidate for meeting rejection criteria as outlined in this Rule. Borderline invoice totals can often be justified to meet the minimum requirements with additional scrutinized auditing. Nothing gets the attention of a billing party like the receipt of a rejected invoice per Office Manual Rule 112. What we find is that, in practice, billing parties place a priority in both: a) responding to rejected invoices for accrual purposes, and b) providing more favorable terms for reducing repair amounts. Furthermore, if the billing party fails to respond to the rejection notification in 12 months per Rule 12.H.3.c, the billed party
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no longer has to pay the invoice. As impossible as it may seem, in reality and based on our experience of managing 150,000 rail cars every month, billing parties in fact do allow some rejected invoices to expire. As such, our conclusion can only be that, when warranted, invoice rejection per Rule 112 can be a powerful, money saving tool for car owners. Sharing our experience, our recommendation is to properly interpret and use AAR Interchange Office Manual Rule 112 to the letter of the law. s
1
Defect Card (DC) - A physical card written up and placed in a designated holder on a car that was damaged by a railroad that was unable to fix the damage. The Defect Card identifies the damage done as well as the damaging party. The car is typically then repaired by a third party.
2
Joint Inspection Certificate (JIC) – Based on an AAR template document, a JIC is granted when a third party damages a railcar. Both the damaging party and the owner mutually agree to the extent of the damage done to the railcar and list each item on the Joint Inspection Certificate.
3
Rebuttal Charge - A charge billed to one party that is the responsibility of another party, typically due to a contractual arrangement such as a lease.
4
Counter Billing Authority (CBA) – An AAR paper document giving authority to bill (or invoice) a repairing party for billing errors identified by the car owner in an exception letter.
5
Data Exchange (DX), Car Repair Billing – A monthly process by which freight rail car repair data in the 500 byte format is submitted through Railinc for dispersal to responsible parties.
6
findus.rail – A Railinc supported repository of contact information for the rail industry.
7
Private Car Owner (PCO) – Non-railroad owners of railcars including banks, leasing companies, shippers and private investors.
Repair Bill Auditing CRB Advanced Detection Management INTERRIS Wayside Alerts in Error EHMS IDOpen& Close SYSTEM or SERVICE Visit nationalcoaltransportation.org for more information.
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Surface Transportation Board / Update
STB Update When One Docket Closes, Another One Opens By Pat Scherzinger, NCTA Communications Director
T
he Surface Transportation Board (STB) looks at dockets like Alexander Graham Bell looked at doors. On November 21st, 2011 the STB simultaneously closed Docket No. FD 35305, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation—Petition For Declaratory Order and opened Docket No. FD 35557, Reasonableness of BNSF Railway Company Coal Dust Mitigation Tariff Provisions. Last March, the Board had decided in FD 35305 that, while it supported efforts to minimize coal dust, the BNSF tariff regarding coal dust was an unreasonable practice and, therefore, violated 49 U.S.C. § 10702. The STB found the measurement methods of using the Integrated Dust Value (IDV) were unreliable and inaccurate. This finding came in part from the Engineering Study commissioned by the NCTA and from the testimony of the lead engineer for the study. In part the unreasonableness also stemmed from the tariff’s lack of assurance that the shippers using the currently available technology to comply with the tariff would be protected from additional claims of noncompliance by the BNSF. Therefore, the STB strongly suggested that BNSF could comply by having a “safe harbor provision” as part of a future Tariff. After the BNSF reworked and filed a replacement tariff (BNSF Price List 6041-B Item 100) which included a safe harbor provision, the Western Coal Traffic League (WCTL) requested FD 35305 be reopened and mediation between BNSF and coal shippers be instituted. While the Board denied WCTL’s request, it opened the new proceeding to consider whether the “safe harbor” provision of the new tariff is reasonable. Even though tariffs typically should be challenged by complaint, the STB felt that the continuing controversy regarding the safe harbor provision’s reasonableness was an issue of “broad importance to the railroad industry”. So using its discretionary authority under 49 U.S.C. § 721 and 5 U.S.C. § 554(e), the Board issued a declaratory order and opened Docket No. FD 35557, stating it will “allow all views across the industry to be considered in one proceeding. and it will promote regulatory efficiency by addressing an area of uncertainty”. The STB added an interesting and important footnote to its double docket decision (say that ten times fast) stating
54 | COAL TRANSPORTER
that the new proceeding would allow the addressing of 1) the absence of penalties, 2) the lack of cost sharing, and 3) the shipper liability associated with the use of the BNSF approved topper agents. These were all important issues raised by WCTL. The footnoted provisions are of importance to NCTA members. The BNSF is using the Tariff and transportation agreements to require the use of chemical agents while simultaneously shifting any liability for that use away from the BNSF. Consequently, the issue of liability runs through the entire supply chain. The rail carriers admit to a significant reduction in the frequency of undercutting of the rail bed, but offer shippers nothing to offset the increased costs to the shipper for this benefit. Finally, the rail carriers could impose a penalty for non-compliance after sufficient notice. These significant commercial and operational items were the basis for NCTA to become a Party of Record in the new FD 35557 proceeding. The schedule for the proceeding is listed below.
8TH FINANCE DOCKET NO. 35557 PROPOSED PROCEDURAL SCHEDULE Day
Date
0
12/6/11
Procedural schedule for declaratory order proceeding adopted
10
12/27/11
Notices of intent to participate due
50
2/6/12
Close of discovery
95
3/20/12
Opening evidence and argument due from all PORs
125
4/20/12
Reply evidence and argument due from and all PORs
150
5/14/12
Rebuttal evidence and argument due from all PORs
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NCTA Scholarship Announcements
2011 Scholarship Recipients The NCTA awarded four scholarships to children of the employees of NCTA member companies at its annual fall conference. These are the talented and hard-working recipients. By Emily Regis, Arizona Electric Power Cooperative Chairman, NCTA Education Committee Recipient of the 2011 David Laffere Scholarship Award
Andrew Hamann University of Texas at Austin Electrical Engineering
Andrew Hamann is a senior at University of Texas majoring in electrical engineering and is admittedly captivated by the electric power industry. During his summer internship at LCRA, Andrew was convinced that the electric power industry held great potential and a wealth of interest for him and he is very excited about working in the industry some day. After graduation from University of Texas in May 2012, Andrew plans to go to graduate school and focus on electrical power systems as part of his degree program. Ultimately, Andrew would like to work in system modeling or electric power market operations after completing his education. Andrew tries to maintain a balance between school and work and is involved in the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society at University of Texas. He enjoys playing sports in his free time and is an avid Texas Longhorn football and basketball fan. Andrew says he enjoys the utility industry and sees now as an excellent time to get involved in this field. With all of the challenges facing the industry today, Andrew sees opportunity for new ways of thinking and different approaches to evolving problems, such as ensuring clean, sustainable and reliable energy for years to come. Andrew is the son of James Hamann, an employee of the Lower Colorado River Authority in Austin, Texas.
Brandon L. Yuill South Dakota School of Mines. Electrical Engineering Brandon Yuill is a junior at South Dakota School of Mines majoring in electrical engineering and plans to graduate with a BS in the fall of 2013. Brandon is well rounded individual who plays first chair trumpet in the South Dakota Symphonic band and also in a community brass ensemble. He also plays bass for his church. While working towards his degree with a busy academic schedule, Brandon is employed part-time with SDSMT campus safety. Brandon is very serious about his studies and was on the Dean’s list at SDSMT in 2011, and is currently placed in the 99th percentile for math and science in the collegiate assessment of academic proficiency scores. In addition to the demanding workload required for obtaining his degree, Brandon is seeking an internship at a coal fired power plant where he can obtain hands-on experience in the production of energy. With Brandon’s leadership skills and sincerity about his academic goals, he has the potential to become a great leader in the electrical industry after graduation. Brandon is the son of Violet Yuill, an employee of American Electric Power in Alliance, Nebraska. 56 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Daniel D. Morton Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Electrical Engineering Daniel Morton is an electrical engineering major at Virginia Tech and expects to graduate in May 2012 with a BS in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in power systems. Daniel recently was accepted into a combined bachelors and masters degree program at Virginia Tech. After graduation, Daniel plans to begin working full-time and will continue with the MSEE program at Virginia Tech’s satellite campus. As part of this program, it is Daniel’s goal to perform research in the area of power system analysis, protection and control. After graduation, Daniel hopes to work in the electric power industry and then return to a local university to obtain a PhD or MBA. In addition to his demanding work load as an electrical engineering major, Daniel volunteers his spare time to community service organizations. Daniel is an Eagle Scout and stays involved with his hometown Boy Scout troop whenever he returns home for breaks. Daniel has also served 4 years on the executive board of the Student Engineer’s Council at Virginia Tech, a nonprofit registered student organization that strives to improve the education of all engineering students at Virginia Tech. With these service and leadership accomplishments, Daniel hopes to achieve his educational and career goals and become a strong leader and engineer. Daniel is the son of David Morton, an employee of FirstEnergy in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Elias Heard Georgia Institute of Technology Mathematics and Electrical Engineering Dual Degree Elias Heard is on his way to completing the electrical engineering portion of his degree in May 2013 at Georgia Tech, having already completed his mathematics degree within in just six semesters at Fort Valley State University under the Cooperative Developmental Energy Program. After completing his BSEE, Elias will be participating in the electrical engineering masters curriculum in 2013-2014 at Georgia Tech. Elias would like to work in the energy industry after graduation. He is honored to be able to participate in this program that is sponsored by several companies in the electric industry where so many successful leaders got their start and inspiration. Elias had an active role in his chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and has remained on the dean’s list throughout his academic career. He has also worked professionally at EBay as and Operational Excellence intern. Elias is the son of Mindy Watson-Ward, an employee of Cloud Peak Energy Resources, LLC in Broomfield, Colorado.
The Board of Directors Visit Washington
Three Days in the Bubble
T
he NCTA Board of Directors and members of the Operations and Maintenance Committee made their annual visit to Washington in early November. As always, meetings with lawmakers, regulators, government, associations, industry groups and members were educational in nature. The education goes both ways as the NCTA gets a full briefing on the issues and, in turn, brings a dose of reality into the beltway bubble. The visit always begins with an NCTA hosted luncheon with fellow associations, industry groups, law firms and others working on behalf of coal and utility industries in Washington. Consumers United for Rail Equity, National Mining Association, GKG Law, Slover and Loftus, L. E. Peabody, Maxeefish, Hellerworx, Thompson Hine, Edison Electric Institute were all represented at the luncheon and gave a short briefing on the current issues within their area of expertise – from the fuel surcharges to CASPR and MACT and everything in between. The rest of the afternoon and into the evening was taken up with an official Board of Directors meeting. Tuesday morning the NCTA began
58 | COAL TRANSPORTER
its day at the Association of American Railroads where the groups discussed both common areas of interest as well as issues where the parties have disparate opinions. The AAR briefed the group on the status of the rail labor negotiations. Labor negotiations in the rail industry have legislative rules and options that may function as a framework for final resolution of rail labor negotiations. These recognize of the central role and importance of rail transportation to the national economy. On the railroad management side, an organization of the 30 railroads called the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) bargains on a unified basis for the railroads. The 13 rail unions also form coalitions for bargaining. The parties also discussed service levels post flooding in the Midwest, hiring trends, and trends in other rail business lines including exports, grain, and intermodal traffic as reported on the AAR website. Additionally, the economics of high speed rail and positive train control and their effect on freight rail service were topics of mutual interest. The next meetings were just down the block at the Surface Transportation
Board The group met first with Vice Chairman Ann Begeman, the newest member of the board and then with Commissioner Frank Mulvey. As it was the NCTA’s first meeting with Vice Chairman Begeman, the meeting focused on what the NCTA accomplishes and the roles that the participants play, both within their individual organizations and as part of the NCTA. Mr. Mulvey who is very familiar with the NCTA, discussed a variety of items including recent decisions on revenue adequate and the cost of capital. After a quick lunch on the go, the group met with the Energy Information Administration section of the Department of Energy. The EIA provided four excellent briefings on the topics of electricity supply, coal production, railroad transportation rates, and the natural gas supply. Then it was off to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Senator Barrasso (R-WY). Senator Barrasso is on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committees. The proposed merger of Office of Surface Mining and the Bureau of Land Management, a move the Senator and the mining industry strongly oppose, was
discussed. This is an ongoing issue and still has not been decided at press time. The effort of environmental groups to prevent the export of coal through west coast ports was also a discussion topic. Nothing, including higher energy costs for consumers, job losses, or the balance of trade seems to concern these groups. Senator Manchin (D-WV) was also able to meet with the NCTA. Formerly the Governor of West Virginia, he succeeded the late Robert Byrd after prevailing in a special election. With some family history in mining and first hand knowledge of the importance of coal to West Virginia’s economy, his approach to coal is more balanced than most. Both Senators were most gracious and open to hearing the real life perspectives from the producers and utilities represented. The day concluded by meeting with John Anderson, the Majority Staff Director of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. He discussed the state of the waterways infrastructure and the lack of funding available for maintenance, let alone improvement. The final day of meetings focused on a smaller group meeting with the AAR’s Jim Grady to discuss a number of more technical and mechanical matters as brought forward by the NCTA Operations and Maintenance group. Among the topics that were covered: cost/benefit analysis of new rules, AAR circulars, UP maintenance requirements in excess of AAR standards, asymmetrical wear on M976 trucks, and wayside detector standards. The annual DC visit concluded at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) where ECP brakes were discussed. FRA’s vision of an industry running on ECP is a long way from fruition, and in fact, appears to be moving backwards. One utility recently converted one of their two stand-alone ECP trains back to conventional brakes, and any operational savings have yet to be realized. The FRA was asked to support running a train with covers at the Pueblo test center to measure fuel savings that could be realized. The trip this year was highly educational and the group covered a lot of territory in a short period of time. The presidential election will occur in November 2012, so the NCTA will likely push its next visit back until February of 2013. s 60 | COAL TRANSPORTER
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Coal Regulation / End User View
The Other Side of the Tracks:
Understanding the Regulatory Burdens of Coal End-Users
By Robynn Andracsek, P.E., Burns & McDonnell
J
ust as supply is dependent upon demand, coal providers are affected by the regulatory requirements of coal consumers. Unfortunately, coal combustion is affected by a tangled web of rules covering air, water, and waste, making the impacts difficult to understand. Adding to this confusion is the fact that many of these rules are currently in flux, with major changes expected to be proposed and implemented in 2012-2014. Consider the following to be a crib sheet, maybe not to understanding the regulations as much as to understanding what your customers are experiencing.
Robynn Andracsek
No matter where you fall in the supply chain, we are all in it together.
62 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Air
The Clean Air Act is arguably the most critical set of regulations governing the combustion of coal. Its fundamental tenet is to set numerical ceilings of air pollution that are considered healthy for the most sensitive members of our population, specifically children, the elderly, and asthmatics. These levels are then used to classify the country into attainment (good air quality) and nonattainment (bad air quality). Periodically, these National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are reevaluated and lowered. Figure 1 shows the area of the country currently designated as non-attainment. Particulate and opacity were the main regulated air emissions from coal combustion until the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977, which saw the beginning of the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. PSD is a preconstruction approval process that requires the installation of Best Available Control Technology
(BACT) and a demonstration through computer modeling that each major project will not cause a violation of the NAAQS. However, in an attempt to appease different special interest groups, PSD allowed existing plants to be “grandfathered” and not have to obtain a PSD permit until they underwent a significant construction project. The problem that still plagues the industry is that although “routine” maintenance projects are exempt from PSD, the meaning of “routine” has never been defined in the regulations. Starting around 1999, the EPA began to change their interpretation of what they considered to be “routine.” This led to dozens of enforcement cases against coal-fired boilers for activities that industry considered to be normal maintenance, such as boiler tube replacements or repairs to the superheater pendants. The resulting settlements commonly included hundreds of millions of dollars in retrofitted control devices, shutting down older boilers, and multimillion dollar fines. To this day, there exists neither a list of allowed maintenance activities nor a definition of “routine.” As maintaining aging coal-fired assets becomes more expensive and legally risky, the option to build new boilers has also been all but eliminated by new regulations. EPA is mandated to regulate hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from coal-fired boilers through the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) program. Commonly referred to as the Utility MACT, this regulation sets emission limits for mercury and other HAPs from new boilers at such a low level that the most modern existing coal-fired boilers in the U.S. cannot meet them, meaning there
is no certainty that a new boiler could comply. Additionally, the regulation has been issued, revoked by the courts, reproposed, and stayed numerous times over the last decade, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for operators of existing assets. Another new regulation targeting coal combustion is the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR, pronounced “Casper”). This rule has lived through several incarnations due to legal challenges and court reprimands, including a last minute stay on December 30, 2011 before the rule went into effect January 1, 2012. Again, these legal maneuvers increase uncertainty for boiler operators. There are several more significant rules recently issued, pending, or in legal limbo that affect coal combustion, including BART (Best Available Retrofit Technology for protection of visibility in National Parks), the Industrial Boiler MACT (for smaller, non-utility coalfired boilers, such as those at universities and manufacturing plants), and the greenhouse gas tailoring rule (which regulates emissions of CO2 for the first time in the U.S.) And, that’s just the Clean Air Act.
Counties Designated “Nonattainment” for Clean Air Act’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
LEGEND: County Designated Nonattainment for 5 NAAQS Pollutants County Designated Nonattainment for 4 NAAQS Pollutants County Designated Nonattainment for 3 NAAQS Pollutants County Designated Nonattainment for 2 NAAQS Pollutants County Designated Nonattainment for 1 NAAQS Pollutant
COAL TRANSPORTER | 63
Water and Waste
Two major regulations are pending for water and waste byproducts of coal combustion. Section 316b of the Clean Water Act requires that the location, design, construction and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact, specifically the injury and death of fish and other aquatic species. This rule was to be implemented in several phases, but as a result of legal proceedings, several aspects affecting existing facilities were remanded to EPA for reconsideration. The result may be a mandate at some facilities to construct cooling water towers instead of drawing in cooling water from nearby lakes, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars for each cooling tower. These rules, however, are still undefined due to legal challenges. Coal combustion residues (CCR aka coal ash) regulation is another area of morphing legal requirements for coal-
fired boilers. More than 40 percent of CCRs have found industrial re-uses such as in concrete and cement, in drywall and as blasting grit, according to the American Coal Ash Association. On December 22, 2008, a retaining wall failed at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tenn. More than 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled from an on-site holding pond. As a direct result, EPA is considering reclassifying CCR as a hazardous waste. Hazardous wastes are subject to an entirely separate set of regulations. The end result of coal ash being classified as hazardous would be a substantial drop (if not total elimination) in the beneficial reuse of coal ash and the need for much more storage volume for the now worthless ash at the utility sites where it is generated. Once again, these new rules have been delayed and are entering a stage of legal morass, with various parties suing to force EPA to make a decision on a hazardous classification.
Slover &Loftus ATTORNEYS AT LAW
Uncertainty and the Future
Coal-fired boilers large and small are living in limbo. It’s understandable that many companies are turning away from coal combustion given the regulatory uncertainty on multiple fronts. Natural gas prices are dropping, for now, due to the increased production from new techniques of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), making coal look financially less attractive. However, EPA, like nature, abhors a vacuum and fracking regulations will be soon forthcoming which may mitigate the attractiveness of natural gas. The problems of coal combustors extend upstream to coal producers and transporters, as well as downstream to consumers, who will begin to notice higher energy costs. Coal, the foundation of our electrical grid stability, is definitely under attack. And, no matter where you fall in the supply chain, we are all in it together. s
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STATS AT A GLANCE West of Mississippi 800
Weekly Coal Production Annualized 13 Week Rolling Average (Million Tons Per Year)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0 01/06/07
By Bob Burnham 01/06/08
01/06/09 W Bit
Gulf Coast
01/06/10 Ft Union
PRB
01/06/11
Other
U.S. Total Coal Production 1,400
Source: These figures have been generated using the EIA Weekly Coal Production report (DOE/EIA 0218/1). The weekly production numbers have been annualized and a 13 week rolling average has been plotted.
1,200
Weekly Coal Production Annualized 13 Week Rolling Average (Million Tons Per Year)
Following a significant drop in coal production in 2008, EIA’s weekly coal reports suggest that things may have bottomed out for now. Unfortunately, the recovery seems to be limited to two regions, The PRB and the ILB and only the ILB has exceeded its 2008 production levels.
1,000
800
600
400
200
East of Mississippi 600
0 01/06/07
01/06/08
01/06/09 East of Mississippi
01/06/10
01/06/11
West of Mississippi
Weekly Coal Production Annualized 13 Week Rolling Average (Million Tons Per Year)
500
Bob Burnham is a mining engineer with more than 40 years experience in the coal industry. He has been involved in the exploration, evaluation, development, construction and operation of both surface and underground coal mines during his career. Bob went into semiretirement in February 2011 but continues to work as an independent consultant. He can be contacted at bob_burnham@msn.com.
400
300
200
100
0 01/06/07
01/06/08
01/06/09 CAPP
66 | COAL TRANSPORTER
NAPP
01/06/10 SAPP
ILB
Other
01/06/11
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NCTA / Member Sound-Off
Member Sound-Off
T
he theme of the NCTA Fall conference was “Managing the Message”. Special Guest Speaker Scott Rasmussen discussed how public opinion gets formed and what it takes to change it. Sometimes public opinion changes quickly as a result of some kind of catalyst or a defining moment that brings support for an action or law. Decisions to go to war or laws named after crimes to
children are good examples of this. Sometimes a defining moment can create an overreaction and we end up with things like positive train control where the costs of implementation by some estimates outweigh the benefits by at least 20 to 1. At other times, public opinion changes slowly. Mr. Rasmussen used the example of women’s suffrage which took a half century from state voting rights in Wyoming in 1869 to the ratification
Will there be a defining event? “No single defining event. But, a succession of events such as black outs and brown outs due to unreliable energy production, major water contamination due to natural gas fracking and nuclear power unit meltdown may contribute to a change in public opinion, but only if government regulators and coal industry step up and provide evidence.” - Emily Regis, Arizona Public Service Cooperative
“Yes. Blackouts due to lack of generation or one massive increase in electrically rates.” - Edwin Fisher, Arch Coal Sales
“A technological advance that transforms how coal is consumed and also transforms the way byproducts are emitted.” - Marcus Yancey, Southern Company
“No, I don’t think there could be a single defining event that could change public opinion on the use of coal for electrical generation. It took many events such as coal mine disasters and lots of negative publicity about “dirty coal” to get the public where they are. I think it will take a long, sustained information effort to change public opinion.” - George Faulkner, Optim Energy Twin Oaks
“Somehow debunking the mythical science behind climate change. Other than that the defining event will not occur until customers realize the astronomical increase in power bills when natural gas prices increase from demand or due to regulations on fracking. Unfortunately it will be too late as most coal units that are deemed to be uneconomical to operate will no longer exist.” - Mark Kenny, Southern Company
“Have Facebook out for two weeks of each month, roughly the amount of time that coal fired generation supplies power for their servers.” - Gayle TenBrink, TrinityRail
68 | COAL TRANSPORTER
The Coal Transporter asked members and associates to offer their opinions on a current topic in the coal industry. of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Often these movements make progress by becoming part of something else the public wants. The men in Wyoming wanted more women to live there, thus the early adoption of women’s voting rights. What will it take to change public opinion on coal? We received over 80 responses so this is just a small sampling of some common themes.
“Extensive brown outs, accompanied by a sharp increase in energy prices.” - Patty White, Patriot Coal Corp “Clear evidence that the earth is not warming” - Joe Leingang, Basin Electric Power Cooperative
“A spike in electricity prices resulting in job losses.” - David Bunch, Cloud Peak Energy
“It would be the consumer electric bill doubling in cost. When a gallon of gas got to $4.00 per gallon there was a lot of screaming.” - Mike Kelly, FreightCar America
What would be the best strategy to change public opinion of coal assuming there is no singular defining moment? “Educate the general public that without affordable energy which coal is necessary piece of the puzzle the U. S. cannot compete with China for the all important manufacturing jobs and the products that low cost energy allows us to produce.” - John Hull, Peabody Energy
“EDUCATION! The industry needs to work together to better educate the public. Coal producers, transportation providers, industry support services etc need to come together to form a more strategically aligned front. Example - why doesn’t the coal industry have movies airing on national television that show people active mine sites, reclamation sites, benefits to surrounding communities, jobs provided etc? Environmental groups do the opposite; we need to counter those types of things. If we don’t we only
Most Valuable Benefit Coal Can Provide to the Public
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make the road ahead of us bumpier. It is a tall order, and I don’t know what it will take for the movement to get its act together.” - Mason Caperton, Alpha Natural Resources
“Conveying the message that electricity is the equivalent of economic oxygen; you want a substitute for coal? Fine, but have the replacement already teed up.” - Steve Doyle, Doyle Trading Consultants
“To bring the real story of how the US government and environmental organizations are methodically shutting down the coal mining industry and coal as an electric generating fuel resulting in billions of additional cost to consumers.” - Michael Hoffman, DTE Energy/Fuel Supply
‘More “face time”; repetition is the key to public perception and changing opinions. Coal needs to flood the airwaves with positive opinion pieces on availability, relative costs, clean burning successes, improvements over time, etc.’ - Jim Marcrum, AKJ Industries, Inc.
“Why is it these internet companies can afford ads for the Super Bowl and other media outlets and we as an industry can’t afford or choose not to advertise in such venues? Over the last few years I’ve noticed a lot more billboard ads which is great and some more TV ad’s (mainly by Consol Energy which I applaud their efforts) but we need to take it a step further by using new advertising outlets and in particular finding ways to educate our young people. I talk with a lot of young people about our industry and over 95 % of them (including adults) have never heard of the Powder River Basin....the bottom line is we have to educate the general public. Our kids know about places all over the world but have no idea about coal, it’s uses and the value to our society. As one young man stated to me he didn’t care about coal because he was going into computers...my response was you wouldn’t be able to use that computer without electricity generated by coal. In summary we need to focus on educating the general public thru our schools and thru all the modern social media outlets used today.”
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“Market the economic and patriotic benefits of American coal (i.e. energy independence, domestic jobs, etc.)” - Patrick McGrath, Flagship Rail Services, LLC
‘To continue to point out the reason behind our current relatively low energy costs are because of coal. Without coal generating the low cost efficient power we have learned to expect there would not be any electricity to charge your electric car. By using the electric car and other transportation means based on electric power, the benefit to the environment is much greater than closing coal fired power plants.’ - Carol Scarborough, FreightCar Rail Services LLC
Locomotives Railcars Sales Leasing Parts
505 Sansome, Suite 1800 San Francisco, CA 94111 Phone: 415-398-4510 Fax: 415-398-4816 www.hlmx.com
- John Zoller, Transportation Services, Inc.
COAL TRANSPORTER | 69
Reflections / Willie Yager
Mr.& Mrs.
Yager Living the Good Life in Amarillo
L
ike Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the beginning of movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, life at the Yager house in Amarillo, Texas seems quiet and serene. Now there was a bit of excitement in mid-December when Willie and his wife of 33 years, Connie, found a very pregnant Chiweener (that’s 1/2 Chihuahua x 1/2 Dachshund) shivering and alone on their front doorstep. In spite of posting pictures of the lost dog on poles near parks and schools and advertising in the paper, no one stepped forward to reclaim her. Annie, as she is now known, is now the mother of five and enjoying the good life in Texas along with new pals Tootsie and Brooke, two dachshunds they already had. Even in retirement, can life be this laid back for Willie, a former Navy Seal, and Connie, who was setting explosive charges for NL McCullough when they first met? Well, just like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, as the movie goes on, it’s a quiet life only if you don’t count the guns and fast cars!
Growing up Near Fort Bliss
Willie Yager was born in El Paso, Texas. During the war, Willie’s family including an older sister lived in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Their home was across the street from Robert Oppenhiemer. His father Bill did work for Foster Wheeler including projects at the White Sands Proving Ground and at Fort Bliss. 70 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Two things during these early years made a big impression on “Bill Junior” as he was known at the time. When Willie was a teenager, he and his father worked side-by-side restoring his first car, a 1954 Ford. It took 8 months to strip down and reassemble. This started a lifelong passion for restoring cars. Willie has restored or worked on over forty vehicles thus far, ranging from a 1932 Model A to a rare prototype 1980 Corvette. He still has a project going in his garage and probably always will. The second thing that made an impression on Willie was the soldiers marching constantly through the sand hills at Fort Bliss left an impression. After graduating from High School in El Paso, he joined the Navy. There would be no marching in sand for him! Willie’s career in the US Navy spanned eighteen years with 10 years of active duty and 8 years in the reserves. While most people remember President Kennedy’s speech to Congress in May of 1961 for his promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, few recall that he also announced his intention to spend over $100 million to strengthen U.S. special operations forces and expand American capabilities in unconventional warfare. Nearing the end of his second year in the service, Willie was approached about joining one of these elite units that would be able to operate from sea, air or land. Able to shoot and hit a mass the size of a watermelon from a distance of 836 yards with 1960s technology, Willie became a
pioneering Navy SEAL. Take that Brad Pitt. During down time between assignments, Willie took advantage of the military’s many opportunities to pursue higher education and he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Project Engineering from the Texas Western University. His specialty was metallurgy and metal stress. Although he did not actually Forced to retire from active duty due to an arm injury, Willie went back to El Paso and took a job at Phelps Dodge as a Mechanical Superintendent. From there he moved to Farmington, New Mexico with Utah International as a Coal Operations Manager. It was here in Farmington that Willie met his wife Connie who had grown up in the area and had recently moved back from the Wyoming. He knew he had met his match when he found out Connie was the only female at the time licensed in the United States to handle and load explosives in the oilfields.
One Job, Many Companies
In 1979 Willie was asked to take a three year contract position with Southwestern Public Service (SPS). At the time SPS was vertically integrated with respect to its fuel supply which caused some concern with regulators. In order to create a more arms length fuel supply, SPS sold most of its fuel assets to Cabot Corporation, with the natural gas components folded into Cabot Oil and Gas and the coal components held in a new subsidiary, TUCO, Inc. The new entity managed all aspects of acquiring, delivering and handling coal for Southwestern Public Service. It was in 1982, in the days following the Cabot purchase, that Willie starting working with railcars and rail transportation issues. In 1996, SPS tried to repurchase TUCO from Cabot, but the PUCT would not grant a waiver in the fuel-cost rules that was needed to make the deal work. That September, Cabot sold TUCO to the closely held Nexgen Resources Corporation and the Republic Financial Corporation. If you are wondering where the name TUCO came from, it was named after the Tuco power plant near Roswell, New Mexico owned by the former Texas-New Mexico Utilities. While the companies may have come and gone, Willie stayed, continuing to gain experience in metal fracture analysis including root cause determination, structural fatigue assessment and corrosion evaluation. In the mid-1990s he obtained a Master
Mechanical License and used his expertise to analyze rail equipment failures and develop inspection plans for railcar uses and standards. He was also involved in track maintenance of way, railcar maintenance, field and shop inspections, and AAR billing correctness and confirmation.
Pioneering the NCTA Operations and Maintenance Committee Just as Willie was one of the first Navy SEALs, he was also one of the original members of the Operations and Maintenance Group of the NCTA. Jim Culp, Ken Jernigan, Tim Farris and Bill Lenz were other founding members. Jim Culp served as the committee’s first chairman. Willie recalls, “The first meeting we had was held in Colorado Springs. The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) had a rail line that went to Trinidad, Colorado. They had retrofitted an old caboose to serve as a moving laboratory. The mechanics of the brakes, pistons, and valves could be observed simultaneously with the actual train operations. The group also went down for a tour of the AAR test facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The trip to the test center was the first of many for Willie over the years. The proximity of the test center to his base in Amarillo allowed him the opportunity to drive up and witness many testing protocols especially if coal gondolas were involved. Willie was also a regular attendee to other NCTA (and its predecessor WCTA) events where he liked to sit in the front row during conference sessions, sometimes to pay attention and other times to have some fun with Tom Canter’s predecessor. Up until his retirement in June of 2011 he served yet another volunteer term on the O&M Executive Committee bringing his expertise to meetings, roundtables, and committee initiatives.
Willie and the Centerfold
While wife Connie is the love of Willie’s life, he does have a thing for a certain exotic centerfold. Over the years he has spent plenty of time and money on her sleek body and has treated her like a queen. The centerfold as it turns out is a rare 1980 Corvette Turbo Concept car, displayed in her original glory in an issue of Corvette News, June/July 1980 issue. And although she is well traveled, she is as Willie describes her, a “trailer queen” having just 14 miles on the odometer since her frame-off restoration was completed. Willie COAL TRANSPORTER | 71
spent over 12 years researching the car’s original specifications and restoring the car to meet them. The amazing thing was that when he started the restoration, he had no idea what a truly unique car he had. In 1980, Chevy and Corvette were testing higher velocity and higher horsepower cars. With new federal emissions requirements on the horizon, further development was stalled and Chevy destroyed all but five of the prototypes. The car Willie now owns was purchased by a Vice President at GM who drove it for a while before selling it to a friend of his who owned a Chevy Dealership in Colorado Springs. He in turn sold it to a CPA that lived in Amarillo. Somehow it was making its way to Willie. The CPA had a bit of a drinking problem which was not good combination with a high powered car and he wrecked it not once, but twice. His frustrated wife had it hauled out to her father’s place, put it in the barn, and there it sat for many years. One day when the wife was visiting the Yager’s, she asked Willie if he still restored cars and offered to sell it to him. When he couldn’t get any of the part numbers to match the available literature, he asked one of his contacts at GM to help track down the problem. A month later, after being quizzed about where he had gotten the numbers, Willie was told that GM had been looking for that particular car for a while and he learned how truly special it was. It was #17 out of 32 Corvettes that were tested.
The Party Barn and Other Passions Hobbies such as car restoration are not solitary activities. When he was young, Willie worked with his father, but these days he shares his passion with Connie, close friend Otto Harz, who he claims as an adopted brother, and a group of friends and their wives in what is affectionately known as the “Party Barn”. This multi-purpose space that Willie helped to build provides ample room to store the group’s cars, work on new projects, and, of course, party. The barn is nothing like one would imagine a garage where a bunch of guys are hanging out and working on their cars. Instead it is an amazing place where every bit of the vast amount of wall space 72 | COAL TRANSPORTER
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Party Barn and its Proprietor At the NCTA Spring Conference in April 2011 Annie’s new pups in January 2012
is taken up with automobile related memorabilia, collectables, and award plaques from car shows the group has attended; where you could play air hockey or pool or watch HDTV; and where you could have a drink and hor d’oeuvres and feel you were in a fun and fanciful auto themed restaurant. While the party barn is mainly for the group’s own work and play, the group was host to over 30 guests participating in the annual Route 66 ride that runs straight through Amarillo. One of Willie’s other passions is a modest but historically significant gun collection. One of his favorite pieces is a Colt commemorating the USS Arizona. The wood on either side of the handle is from the deck and mast of the battleship. Another piece, steeped in both family and Texas history is a Winchester rifle. Numbered #000068, the rifle belonged to his great grandfather who was one of the first Texas Rangers. Willie’s family on his mother’s side is one of the eleventh oldest families in the state. Willie also continues to serve his community in a variety of ways including volunteering at the VA Hospital, the Meals on Wheels Program, and various projects through the local chapter of the Lions Club. One of his regular duties with the VA is driving vets from the retirement facility to their appointments at the hospital. Willie confesses that “The best thing about it is the 74 | COAL TRANSPORTER
unbelievable stories they have to tell.” Not that Willie doesn’t have a few of his own he could tell. Willie continues to consult for the rail and utility industry, focusing mainly on derailment issues. He also does railcar and rail fleet inspections for leases, new builds, and railcar shopped repairs. His expertise in railcar metal fracture analysis allows him to do root cause determination, structural fatigue assessment, and corrosion evaluation for clients. His services also include but are not limited to issues of railcar loss claims; railcar and fleet transportation contracts; operational issues between rail and shipper; AAR billings; rail loading and unloading operations; and track maintenance. Maybe life is slightly quieter for Mr. and Mrs.Yager than it was for Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but it is one rich in friends, family, and fun. From the Amarillo Club where they are long time members to their favorite eateries about town, Willie and Connie are greeted as friends rather than customers and there is always laughter in the air. Their melded family consisting of son Bill, daughter Cindy, their spouses and grandsons, nine yearold Nick and seven year-old Jack, and of course the growing canine contingent complete the picture for living the good life in Amarillo. s
The humo sometime rous s serio , sometim us r es of be amblings st Pete friends and A nn.
The View from the Caboose
THE VIEW FROM THE CABOOSE By Pete Moss & Ann Thrawsite Ann: Hi Pete, how are you? I heard you attended both the Eastern and Western Logistics and Planning Committee meetings. How was the EL&P meeting in Pittsburgh? Pete: Well, a bunch of us went dahntahn, had a pop and a sammitch and talked about the Stillers. On the way back we saw the cutest grinny by the crick. You should have been there and you wouldn’t need to be so nebby.
Ann: I can relate. I feel like crying now. Moving on, how was the WL&P meeting at NV Energy? Pete: They were very gracious, but that is all I can say about it. As you know, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. Ann: That’s a bunch of bratwurst! I only want to know how the meeting was, not what depraved things you did while in town.
Ann: Say again?
Pete: RESPECT the code colleen, RESPECT the code.
Pete: He..he..he…. Don’t you speak Pittsburghese?
Ann: Well, we’re both registered for the NCTA Spring Conference at the Greenbrier. I am looking forward to networking and a highly informative program.
Ann: Well no, but to be fair to the natives, I’m sure it doesn’t usually come out heavy on the Irish brogue. Pete: I am what I am. Say, how about those Penguins? Ann: Penguins again? Last time we spoke you filled me with news flashes on failed rocket launches falling on them. What’s happening to those poor creatures this time? Pete: Not those penguins!! I’m talking about the hockey ones. CONSOL Energy set up a great networking opportunity at the game and the Pens came through in the shoot out to win the game. Ann: I hope you did some work there too. Between talk of “sammitches” and pucks, when did you find the time? Pete: I was there for the meeting and it was really informative. The CSXT and Norfolk Southern always give a good review of ops. AEP gave an excellent talk on environmental regulations and the challenge for coal. I thought the guy must have a stressful job so I really surprised when he said he slept like a baby. Turns out he meant he wakes up every two hours and cries. lol
Pete: I’m stoked about it too, especially since I found out that Mr. C. negotiated a great rate at the hotel of $199/night. Now I won’t have to pretend that I’m part of Occupy White Sulfur Springs and sleep in a tent. Instead I’ll be leading the sweeeet life. Ann: As if you’d hang with that crowd. Even though you are a bit of a rascal, you always make your own way. Pete: Thanks (I think). All I know is that West Virginia is beautiful and I’m always up for some good ole Mountain Dew. I’ve even been immortalized in song. I know a guy named Pete, his hair ain’t so neat, Though he fixes it with syrup and blue, But it stays right in place when he uses just a trace Of that good old mountain dew.. Ann: Once again, I can dress you up but I can’t take you anywhere. s
Have something to say to Pete? Send comments or questions to pete@nationalcoaltransportation.org COAL TRANSPORTER | 75
NCTA Membership List A. Stucki Company AKJ Industries Alliance Coal, LLC Alliant Energy Corporate Services Alltranstek LLC Alpha Coal Sales Co., LLC Alpha Products, Inc. Ameren Energy Fuels and Services American Electric Power American Railcar Industries, Inc Amsted Rail Appalachian Railcar Services, Inc. Arch Coal Sales, Inc. Arizona Electric Power Coop.,Inc. Arizona Public Service Arkansas Electric Cooperative Associated Electric Power Cooperative Associated Terminals LLC Basin Electric Power Cooperative Benetech, Incorporated Bosch Rexroth Corp., Pneumatics CANAC, Inc. CDG Engineers, Architects, Planners CIT Rail City Utilities of Springfield Cleco Cloud Peak Energy Colorado Springs Utilities CONSOL Energy Inc. Consumers Energy Company Cooper T. Smith CPS Energy Crown Products Dairyland Power Cooperative David J. Joseph Co. Dayton Power & Light Company Detroit Edison Drummond Coal Sales Inc.
Duke Energy Dynegy, Inc. Ecofab Australasia Ellcon-National, Inc. The Empire District Electric Company Energy Publishing, LLC Enserco Energy Entergy Services, Inc. Excel Rail Management LLC Exelon Power Team Exponent, Inc. First Union Rail FirstEnergy Flagship Rail Services, LLC Florida Power & Light Company FreightCar America GATX GE Rail Global Barrier Coatings Global Coal Sales Global One Transport, Inc. Grand River Dam Authority Great River Energy The Greenbrier Companies Helm Financial Corp. Heyl & Patterson Idaho Power Company iIRX Jim Walter Resources, Inc. Kansas City Power & Light KCBX Terminals Co. Kiewit Mining Group Inc. Kinder Morgan Terminals Lexair, Inc. Locomotive Service, Inc. Lower Colorado River Authority Luminant Energy Macquarie Rail Inc.
Martin Engineering Maxeefish LLC MEAG Power Metro East Industries, Inc. MidAmerican Energy Company Midland Railway Supply Midwest Generation Midwest Industrial Supply, Inc Miner Enterprises Inc. Minnesota Power Mitsui Rail Capital, LLC Momar Inc. Muscatine Power and Water Nalco Company Nebraska Public Power District New York Air Brake Newmont Mining Corp Northern Indiana Public Svc Norwest Corporation NRG Energy, Inc. NV Energy OG&E Electric Services Oglethorpe Power Corp. Omaha Public Power District Ontario Power Generation Otter Tail Power Company PacifiCorp Patriot Coal Corporation Peabody CoalSales Pincock Allen & Holt Platte River Power Authority Portland General Electric PPL EnergyPlus, LLC Precision Roller Bearing Co. Progress Rail Services, Corp QMASTOR Limited Rail Link Railroad Financial Corporation RAS Data Services
RESIDCO Rhino Energy LLC Salt River Project Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. Southern Company Generation St. James Stevedoring Partners, LLC Standard Steel Strategic Rail Systems Strato, Inc. Structural Composites of Indiana T Parker Host Taggart Global, LLC Tampa Electric Company Teck Coal Limited Tennessee Valley Authority Texas Municipal Power Agency The Timken Company Transportation Services Inc Trinity Rail Tri-State G&T Association TUCO/NexGen Coal Services Tucson Electric Power Company UtahAmerican Energy, Inc Wabtec Corporation We Energies Westar Energy Western Farmers Electric Western Fuels Association, Inc. Westmoreland Coal Sales Company WestRail White Energy Coal North America Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Wood Mackenzie Xcel Energy Xcoal Energy & Resources Zinkan Enterprises, Inc.
Index to Advertisers AEP/Cook Coal Terminal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Alpha Coal Sales Co, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Amsted Rail Company Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Arch Coal, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Associated Terminals, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Bosch Rexroth Corp., Pneumatics. . . . . . . . . . . 26 CANAC Railway Services Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Cloud Peak Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 CoalCap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-39 Crown Products and Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Donahue Railroad Equipment Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 30 Ecofab Covers International Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Electric Power/ PRB Coal Users Group. . . . . . . IBC Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 76 | COAL TRANSPORTER
Exponent, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 First Union Rail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 FreightCar America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 GE Capital Rail Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Greenbrier Companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Helm Financial Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 iIRX, LP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Kiewit Mining Group Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Lexair, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC Macquarie Rail, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Maxeefish LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 MCRL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 MinTech.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OBC Momentive Specialty Chemicals. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
NexGen Coal Services, Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Peabody Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Progress Rail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Rail Link, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Railroad Friction Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Railway Educational Bureau. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Slover & Loftus LLP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Structural Composites of Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Taggart Global, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 West Rail Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Western Fuels Association Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Xcoal Energy & Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
AnnuAl Meeting May 15-17, 2012 Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, mD the Premier Venue for Safe and efficient use of PRB Coals The PRB Coal Users’ Group was formed to promote the safe, efficient and economic use of Powder River Basin coals by generating companies who currently use, or are considering the use of PRB coals. Candid interaction is the hallmark of the annual meeting of the PRB Coal Users’ Group and the presentations feature many case histories. The meeting is co-located with the ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition, held over a three-day period, with the first day featuring plenary sessions of interest to all. The second day consists of three breakout sessions coving coal handling, boiler/combustion issues, and safety/fire/risk management. The final day will feature a Genco only open discussion and an exclusive visit to the PRB Coal Users’ Group 2012 Plant of the Year to see their improvements and operations.
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learn More About the Asian SBC users’ group! Promoting the Safe, Efficient, & Economic Use of Sub-bituminous Coals by Generating Companies www.asiansbcusers.com
TYPEFACES
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