[Federal Register: November 4, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 213)]
[Notices]
[Page 60261-60262]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04no99-153]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-439 (Sub-No. 4X) and STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No.
139X)]
Dallas Area Rapid Transit--Abandonment Exemption--in Dallas
County, TX and Union Pacific Railroad Company--Discontinuance of
Service Exemption--in Dallas County, TX
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Union Pacific Railroad Company
(UP) have filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--
Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances for DART to abandon and UP to
discontinue service over a 3.04-mile line of railroad known as the
Athens Branch East between milepost 308.80 at Pleasant Drive to the end
of the track at milepost 305.76 at Rylie Road, in Dallas County,
TX.1 The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip
Codes 75217 and 75253.
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\1\ DART acquired this line from the Southern Pacific
Transportation Company in 1988. See Dallas Area Rapid Transit--
Acquisition and Operation Exemption--Rail Lines of Southern Pacific
Transportation Company, Finance Docket No. 31267 (ICC served May 20,
1988). SPT concurrently acquired trackage rights over the line. See
Southern Pacific Transportation Company--Trackage Rights Exemption--
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Finance Docket No. 31270 (ICC served May
20, 1988).
The City of Dallas (City) filed a request for issuance of a
notice of interim trail use (NITU) for the entire line pursuant to
section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. 1247(d).
The Board will address the City's trail use request, and any others
that may be filed in a subsequent decision.
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DART and UP have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved
over the line for at least 2 years; (2) there has been no overhead
traffic on the line during the past two years; (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 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 December
4, 1999, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that
do not involve environmental issues,2 formal expressions of
intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),3 and trail
use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by
November 15, 1999. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 24, 1999,
with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case
Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423.
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\2\ 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 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.
\3\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by
the filing fee, which currently is set at $1000. See 49 CFR
1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
applicants' representatives: Judith H. Caldwell, Oppenheimer Wolff
Donnelly & Bayh LLP, 1350 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, DC
20005-3324; and Joseph D. Anthofer, Union Pacific Railroad Company,
1416 Dodge Street, Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179-0001.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
DART and UP have filed an environmental report which addresses the
effects of the abandonment and discontinuance, if any, on the
environment and historic resources. The Section of Environmental
Analysis (SEA) will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by November
9, 1999. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to
SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or
by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1545. 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), DART shall file
a notice of consummation with the Board to
[[Page 60262]]
signify that it has exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned
the line. If consummation has not been effected by DART's filing of a
notice of consummation by November 4, 2000, 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 website at
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''
Decided: October 26, 1999.
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-28520 Filed 11-3-99; 8:45 am]
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