VOORHEESVILLE — A federal lawsuit has been filed against the village of Voorheesville over a stop-work order issued to Norfolk Southern for a “crew-change facility” the freight carrier started to build without notifying the village. 

Norfolk Southern has asked the court to stop enforcement of the order and to declare it legally invalid. 

In response to a request for comment, the carrier said it didn’t “have anything to offer beyond what’s in the filing.”

 The dispute centers on the principle of federal preemption, with Norfolk Southern asserting that Voorheesville’s local zoning and land-use regulations are superseded by the federal laws that govern railroads.

In a Sept. 10 letter to the village, Norfolk Southern said it was “about to commence construction of a building that will support railway operation.” The company claimed it “is exempt from local land use regulations in connection with this project, which does not require us to seek permits” and added, “we wanted to inform you of our intention and provide you with copies of our building plans.”

Voorheesville issued a stop-work order the same day. 

Norfolk Southern in August paid $450,000 to JC Pops Industrial for approximately one acre of its land at 1 Countryside Lane, which sits on a corner of School Road diagonally opposite to the Voorheesville Public Library. Still listed as a 5.7-acre parcel, the property has a full-market value of $817,800, according to Albany County, and an assessed value of $531,600.

The village, in a Sept. 23 letter to Norfolk Southern, said that “86 School Road,” the address the freight carrier has given to the one-acre parcel, constituted an “illegal carveout” of JC Pop’s property. 

The village asserted that the attempted land modification requires a formal subdivision review, which Norfolk Southern is circumventing despite its request for an “extension of municipal facilities,” a waterline. 

The village also claimed that Norfolk Southern filed inaccurate county documents, falsely describing the property as “vacant land” and stating that planning-board approval for the non-existent property was in place. The village also said the “illegal carveout” places the remaining 1 Countryside Lane out of compliance with village code. 

Norfolk Southern in its court filing countered that the village’s justification for stopping its work were illegitimate because:

— The action is superseded by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, which broadly preempts any local zoning or permitting requirements that could impede rail infrastructure construction;

— It places an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce by effectively blocking a cargo route approved by the federal Surface Transportation Board; and

— The village is engaging in pretextual discrimination by using its zoning authority as a pretext to interfere with rail operations, which Norfolk Southern argues is evidenced by the village’s reliance on non-zoning arguments related to a previous settlement agreement between Voorheesville, CSX, and Norfolk Southern, and its reference to already-preempted state regulations.