[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14983-14984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5911]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 159X)] and [STB Docket No. AB-364 (Sub-
No. 5X)]
Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Bowie
County, TX; Texas and Northeastern Railroad, a Division of Mid-Michigan
Railroad, Inc.--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Bowie County,
TX
Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and Texas and Northeastern
Railroad, a Division of Mid-Michigan Railroad, Inc. (TNER), have filed
a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments
and Discontinuances of Service for UP to abandon and TNER to
discontinue service over a 1.2-mile line of railroad between milepost
21.80 and milepost 23.0 in the city of New Boston, Bowie County, TX.
The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 75570.
UP and TNER 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 TNER's line for the past 2 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 these exemptions, any employee adversely affected
by the abandonment or 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, these exemptions will be
effective on April 13, 2001, 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
March 26, 2001. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 3, 2001, with:
Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control
Unit, 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 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 $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
applicants' representatives: James P. Gatlin, General Attorney, Union
Pacific Railroad Company, 1416 Dodge Street, Room
[[Page 14984]]
830, Omaha, NE 68179; and Gary Laakso, Texas and Northeastern
Railroad,Vice President, Regulatory Matters, 5300 Broken Sound Blvd.,
NW., 2nd Floor, Boca Raton, FL 33487-3509.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
UP and TNER 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 March 19,
2001. 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), UP 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 UP's filing of a notice of consummation by March
14, 2002, 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.''
Dated: March 5, 2001.
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-5911 Filed 3-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P