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BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Beltrami Country, MN

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 [Federal Register: January 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 8)]
[Notices]
[Page 1576-1577]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ja07-129]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 446X)]

BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Beltrami Country, MN

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a notice of exemption under
49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 5.29-mile line
of railroad between milepost 90.87 and milepost 95.15, including the
1.01-mile depot spur between milepost 94.78 and milepost 93.77, near
Bemidji in Beltrami County, MN. The line traverses United States Postal
Service Zip Code 56601.
    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; (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 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 February 14, 2007, 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
January 22, 2007. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 1, 2007 with:
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., 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 environmental and historic reports which address the
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by January
19, 2007. 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

[[Page 1577]]

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 January 12, 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: January 4, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-229 Filed 1-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

 
 

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