[Federal Register: November 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 215)]
[Notices]
[Page 65169-65170]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07no06-97]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Creation of an Electronic Docket for a Pending Environmental
Impact Review on the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's Powder
River Basin Expansion Project Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement
Financing Program Loan Application
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of the Creation of an Electronic Docket for the Comments
Received on the FRA's Adoption of the Environmental Impact Statements
Issued by the Surface Transportation Board and FRA's Draft Section
4(f)/303 Statement and Participation as a Concurring Party to a Section
106 Programmatic Agreement.
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SUMMARY: FRA is announcing the creation of an electronic docket
containing comments submitted to the agency in connection with the
agency's environmental and historic preservation review of the Dakota,
Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's application for loan to carry out its
Powder River Basin Expansion Project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Valenstein, Environmental
Program Manager, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Mail Stop 20, Washington, DC
20590; Phone (202) 493-6368.
[[Page 65170]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In an August 18, 2006 Federal Register notice, FRA announced that
it had received an application from the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern
Railroad Corporation (DM&E) for a $2.3 billion loan under the Railroad
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program to fund the
railroad's Powder River Basin Expansion Project (Project) to construct
approximately 280 miles of new rail line to reach the coal mines of
Wyoming's Powder River Basin and to reconstruct another approximately
600 miles of DM&E's existing rail line to allow operation of unit coal
trains along the reconstructed route to and from the new line. DM&E had
received permission to undertake the Project from the Surface
Transportation Board (STB) in a February 15, 2006 decision (see Finance
Docket 33407). The STB had prepared a detailed environmental review of
the Project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. As
authorized by Council on Environmental Quality (CEC) Regulations, FRA
decided to adopt the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) issued by the STB
for Project. Consistent with the CEQ regulations, FRA recirculated the
STB's EIS and SEIS. EPA's publication in the Federal Register of the
notice of availability also occurred on August 18, 2006. FRA also
announced the availability of a draft section 4(f)/303 Statement
prepared for the Project by the FRA pursuant to section 4(f) of the
Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 303(c)) and that the FRA
was seeking to participate as a concurring party in the existing
section 106 Programmatic Agreement. FRA further indicated in the
Federal Register notice that it would accept public comment on its
announced actions through October 10, 2006.
FRA is now announcing that in light of the substantial volume of
comments received it is creating an electronic docket containing the
comments that were submitted. The electronic docket is available
through the DOT Docket Management System (DMS) and is found at http://dms.dot.gov/.
The docket number for this environmental review is FRA
2006-26099. For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to PL-401 on
the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. The electronic docket will facilitate public access
to the comments and enhance FRA's ability to evaluate and address the
comments. While creation of an electronic docket is not the agency's
normal practice for environmental reviews, the special circumstances
present in this proceeding made this an attractive option for the
agency. The DMS staff will add the submitted comments as expeditiously
as possible and comments will be available as they are added to the
system.
Note that comments received will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov
including any personal information. All commenters should
be aware that anyone is potentially able to search the electronic form
of comments received into any agency docket depending on how the
comments are entered into the docket system. You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; pages 19477-78) or you may visit
http://dms.dot.gov. If anyone does not want their submitted comment to
be included in the Docket because they would not have submitted the
comment had they been aware that it would be included in an electronic
docket, please contact the DMS office at: http://dms.dot.gov/Support/
or 1-800-647-5527.
Issued in Washington, DC on October 31, 2006.
Joseph H. Boardman,
Federal Railroad Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-18730 Filed 11-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P