73 FR 216 pg. 66100 - Union Pacific Railroad Company—Abandonment Exemption—in Bowie County, TX; Dallas, Garland Northeastern Railroad Company—Discontinuance of Service Exemption—in Bowie County, TX
Type: NOTICEVolume: 73Number: 216Page: 66100
Docket number: [STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 271X); STB Docket No. AB-585 (Sub-No. 3X)]
FR document: [FR Doc. E8-26467 Filed 11-5-08; 8:45 am]
Agency: Transportation Department
Sub Agency: Surface Transportation Board
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 271X); STB Docket No. AB-585 (Sub-No. 3X)]
Union Pacific Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Bowie County, TX; Dallas, Garland Northeastern Railroad Company-Discontinuance of Service Exemption-in Bowie County, TX
Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and Dallas, Garland Northeastern Railroad Company (DGNO) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F- Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for UP to abandon, and for DGNO to discontinue service over, a 0.3-mile line of railroad known as the Bonham Industrial Lead, extending between milepost 21.5 and milepost 21.8 near New Boston, in Bowie County, TX. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 75570.
Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the line can be rerouted over other lines; (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 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 report), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic report), 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 December 6, 2008, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,1formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by November 17, 2008. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 26, 2008, with: Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
Footnotes:
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 exemptions' 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 exemptions' effective date.
2 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is currently set at $1,500. The filing fee for an OFA increased from $1,300 to $1,500, effective July 18, 2008. See Regulations Governing Fees for Services Performed in Connection with Licensing and Related Services-2008 Update , STB Ex Parte No. 542 (Sub-No. 15) (STB served June 18, 2008), which amends 49 CFR Part 1002 of the Code of Federal Regulations .
A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to applicants' representatives: (1) Gabriel S. Meyer, Assistant General Attorney, Union Pacific Railroad Company, 1400 Douglas Street, Mail Stop 1580, Omaha, NE 68179; and (2) Louis E. Gitomer, Esq., Law Offices of Louis E. Gitomer, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemptions are void ab initio .
Applicants have filed a joint combined environmental and historic report, which addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on the environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by November 10, 2008. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at (202) 245-0305. [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), 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 November 6, 2009, 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: November 3, 2008.
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeff Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. E8-26467 Filed 11-5-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P