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Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Schuylkill County, PA

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 [Federal Register: August 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 161)]
[Notices]
[Page 48581]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21au06-96]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-996X]
 
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad Company--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Schuylkill County, PA

    Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad Company (RBMN) has 
filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon a 1.2-mile portion of its Minersville Running 
Track, extending from milepost 7.6 to milepost 8.8, in Norwegian and 
Cass Townships, in Schuylkill County, PA. The line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Code 17954.
    RBMN has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic to be 
rerouted; (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 
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 September 20, 2006, 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 
August 31, 2006. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 11, 2006, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20423-0001.
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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 was 
increased to $1,300 effective on April 19, 2006. See Regulations 
Governing Fees for Services Performed in Connection with Licensing 
and Related Services--2006 Update, STB Ex Parte No. 542 (Sub-No. 13) 
(STB served Mar. 20, 2006).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
RBMN's representative: Eric M. Hocky, Esq., Gollatz, Griffin & Ewing, 
P.C., Four Penn Center, Suite 200, 1600 JFK Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19103.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    RBMN has filed a combined environmental report and historic report 
which addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the 
environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by August 25, 2006. 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), RBMN 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 RBMN's filing of a notice of 
consummation by August 21, 2007, 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: August 14, 2006.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-13669 Filed 8-18-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

 
 

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