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BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Flathead County, MT

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 [Federal Register: September 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 188)]
[Notices]
[Page 57019-57020]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28se06-102]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 444X)]
 
BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Flathead County, MT

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a notice of exemption under 
49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a .42-mile 
rail line that extends between Engineering Station 189 + 36 and 
Engineering Station 167 + 00, near Kalispell in Flathead County, MT. 
The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 59901.
    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the line 
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 had been decided in favor of complainant within the 2-year 
period; and (4) the requirements of 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

[[Page 57020]]

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 October 28, 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 
October 10, 2006. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 18, 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 
currently is set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
BNSF's representative: Sidney L. Strickland, Jr., Sidney Strickland and 
Associates, PLLC, 3050 K Street, NW., Suite 101, Washington, DC 20007.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed a combined environmental report and historic report 
which addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the 
environmental and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by October 3, 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), BNSF 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 BNSF's filing of notice of 
consummation by September 28, 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: September 21, 2006.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-15954 Filed 9-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

 
 

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