Jump to main content.

BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Clinton and Marion Counties, IL

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 
[Federal Register: April 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 76)]
[Notices]
[Page 20010-20011]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ap07-140]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 452X)]

BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Clinton and
Marion Counties, IL

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a notice of exemption under
49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon approximately
1.05 miles of rail line, extending between milepost 13.97 and milepost
15.02, near Centralia, in Clinton and Marion Counties, IL.\1\ The line
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 62801.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In a letter filed on April 5, 2007, BNSF clarifies that its
use of MN in the headings of the notice is a clerical error, and
that MN should be replaced with IL in the headings, as is consistent
with the use of IL or Illinois in the text of the notice and
newspaper publication.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the line will 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 May 22, 2007, 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
April 30, 2007. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by May 10, 2007, with:
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 (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.
    \3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is
currently set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 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 April 27, 2007. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by
writing to

[[Page 20011]]

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), 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 a notice of
consummation by April 20, 2008, 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: April 9, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-7535 Filed 4-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

 
 

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.