[Federal Register: October 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 197)]
[Notices]
[Page 58749]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10oc03-176]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-307 (Sub-No. 4X)]
Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Company, Inc.--Abandonment
Exemption--in Albany County, WY
Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Company, Inc. (WYCO) has filed a
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon a 1.12-mile line of railroad extending from
milepost 0.19 to milepost 1.31 in the City of Laramie, Albany County,
WY. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 82070.
WYCO has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the
line; (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 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 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 November
12, 2003, 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(c)(2),\2\ and trail use/rail banking
requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by October 20, 2003.
Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR
1152.28 must be filed by October 30, 2003, with: Surface Transportation
Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.
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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 OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which
currently is set at $1,100. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
WYCO's representative: Karl Morell, Ball Janik LLP, 1455 F St., NW.,
Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
WYCO has filed an environmental report which addresses the
abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment or historic
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by October
17, 2003. 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), WYCO shall file
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If
consummation has not been effected by WYCO's filing of a notice of
consummation by October 10, 2004, 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: October 3, 2003.
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-25609 Filed 10-9-03; 8:45 am]
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