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Boston and Maine Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Merrimack County, NH; Springfield Terminal Railway Company--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Merrimack County, NH

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[Federal Register: January 25, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 17)]
[Notices]
[Page 4668-4669]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25ja08-154]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Docket No. AB-32 (Sub-No. 102X; STB Docket No. AB-355 (Sub-No. 36X)]

Boston and Maine Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Merrimack
County, NH; Springfield Terminal Railway Company--Discontinuance of
Service Exemption--in Merrimack County, NH

    Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) and Springfield Terminal Railway
Company (ST) (collectively, applicants) jointly have filed a notice of
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and
Discontinuances of Service for B&M to abandon, and for ST to
discontinue service over, approximately 0.96 miles of railroad known as
the Concord and Claremont Branch, extending from milepost 0.9 to
milepost 1.86 in Concord, Merrimack County, NH. The line traverses
United States Postal Service Zip Code 03301.
    B&M and ST have 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 (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 of 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 February 26, 2008, 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
February 4, 2008. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 14, 2008,
with: Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC
20423-0001.\3\
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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 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
currently is set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \3\ Without further explanation, applicants state that, prior to
the effective date of these exemptions, title to the line will be
acquired by third parties. Applicants are advised that they cannot
transfer the title until the exemptions become effective or until
they obtain appropriate Board authority.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
applicants' representative: Michael Q. Geary, Esq., Boston & Maine
Corporation, Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA 01862.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    B&M and ST have filed an 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 February 1, 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), B&M 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 B&M's filing of a notice of
consummation by January 25, 2009, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.

[[Page 4669]]

    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: January 17, 2008.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Anne K. Quinlan,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-1197 Filed 1-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

 
 

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