STB Streamlines Procedures with Updated Delegations of Authority and Expanded Grant Stamp Process

The Surface Transportation Board today adopted targeted updates to its regulations to improve efficiency and align procedures with current practice. The final rule clarifies and expands delegations of authority to the Board's Chief Counsel, establishes new delegations to the Chief of Passenger Rail and Investigations (COPRI), and formally codifies the Board's grant-stamp process for uncontested, routine matters. The final rule also updates several regulatory references to reflect current nomenclature.

These changes advance Chairman Patrick J. Fuchs's broader reform agenda and implement recommendations arising from Vice Chairman Michelle Schultz's May 2025 listening sessions.

Highlights of today's decision include:

Chief Counsel Delegations. Clarifies authority over discovery disputes and routine procedural matters; adds authority to act on certain unopposed motor carriers of passengers transactions, and to grant waiver of notice requests in specified exemption proceedings.

COPRI Delegations. Authorizes the COPRI to manage procedural matters and issue grant-stamp decisions in 49 U.S.C. § 24308 passenger-rail proceedings.

Grant Stamp Procedure. Codifies the long-standing practice allowing designated officials to approve uncontested routine matters without a full written decision.

"Practitioners offered thoughtful insights informed by real-world experience," said Vice Chairman Schultz. "These changes reinforce the Board's procedural framework, improve transparency, and strengthen the support for those who appear before the Board."

The revisions in today's decision align the Board's regulations with current practices, consolidate delegations following recent organizational changes, and support the Board's goal of improving procedural efficiency. Because the revisions concern internal agency organization, they are exempt from the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Today's decision in Changes to Delegations, Docket No. EP 789, is effective on September 17, 2026, and may be viewed and downloaded here.