[Federal Register: June 4, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 108)]
[Notices]
[Page 31655-31656]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04jn04-110]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 419X)]
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company--Abandonment
Exemption--in Griggs and Barnes Counties, ND
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) has
filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon and discontinue service over a 4.69-mile line
of railroad between milepost 22.00 near Walum, and milepost 17.31 near
Dazey, in Griggs and Barnes Counties, ND. The line traverses United
States Postal Service ZIP Codes 58429 and 58448.
BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic to be
rerouted; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on
the line (or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of
such user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is
pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S.
District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant within the
2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental
reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal
letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.
As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected
by the abandonment and discontinuance shall be protected under Oregon
Short Line R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To
address whether this condition adequately protects affected employees,
a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be
filed. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be
effective on July 6, 2004, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR
1152.27(copyright))(2),\2\ and trail use/rail banking requests under 49
CFR 1152.29 \3\ must be filed by June 14, 2004. Petitions to reopen or
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed
by June 24, 2004, with the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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\1\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's
Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date.
See Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989).
Any request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that
the Board may take appropriate action before the exemption's
effective date.
\2\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by
the filing fee, which currently is set at $1,100. See 49 CFR
1002.2(f)(25).
\3\ Each trail use request must be accompanied by the filing
fee, which is set at $200.00. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(27)
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
BNSF's representative: Michael Smith, Freeborn & Peters, 311 S. Wacker
Dr., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60606-6677.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
BNSF has filed an environmental report which addresses the effects,
if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on the environment and
historic resources. SEA will issue an
[[Page 31656]]
environmental assessment (EA) by June 11, 2004. Interested persons may
obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface
Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at
(202) 565-1539. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available
through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.] Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must
be filed within 15 days after the EA becomes available to the public.
Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent
decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), BNSF shall file
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned its line. If
consummation has not been effected by BNSF's filing of a notice of
consummation by June 4, 2005, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.
Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at
http://www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: May 25, 2004.
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-12246 Filed 6-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P