Redmond-Issaquah Railroad Preservation Ass'n v. Surface Transportation Board

The Redmond-Issaquah Railroad Preservation Association (“RIRPA”), an organization made up largely of homeowners living along Lake Sammamish in King County, Washington, appeals the Surface Transportation Board’s (“STB”) decision rejecting its Offer of Financial Assistance (“OFA”) to acquire the Redmond-Issaq-uah railroad line; the line, measuring 12.45 miles, runs between Redmond and Issaq-uah along Lake Sammamish. The STB, determining that future traffic on the line was extremely speculative, concluded that RIRPA was not interested in continuing rail services. RIRPA appeals the STB’s denial of its OFA, contending that the agency exceeded its statutory authority because the OFA approval procedure does not warrant using the continuation of rail services as an eliminating criterion. RIR-PA also asserts that the STB’s decision was arbitrary and capricious. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The disposition of the Redmond-Issaq-uah line has been a highly contentious matter, with recreational trail advocates on one side and property owners on the other viewing it as a zero-sum issue. This appeal is only the most recent manifestation of the struggle which began when The…