[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46796-46797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23462]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board \1\
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\1\ The ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-88, 109 Stat.
803 (the Act), which was enacted on December 29, 1995, and took
effect on January 1, 1996, abolished the Interstate Commerce
Commission (ICC) and transferred certain functions and proceedings
to the Surface Transportation Board (Board). Section 204(b)(1) of
the Act provides, in general, that proceedings pending before the
ICC on the effective date of that legislation shall be decided under
the law in effect prior to January 1, 1996, insofar as they involve
functions retained by the Act. This notice relates to a proceeding
that was pending with the ICC prior to January 1, 1996, and to
functions that are subject to Board jurisdiction pursuant to section
49 U.S.C. 10901. Therefore, this notice applies the law in effect
prior to the Act, and citations are to the former section of the
statute, unless otherwise indicated.
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[Finance Docket No. 32530]
Kansas City Southern Railway Company--Construction and Operation
Exemption--Geismar Industrial Area Near Gonzales and Sorrento,
Louisiana
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice of extension of time for comment period for draft
environmental impact statement (EIS).
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SUMMARY: The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS) applied to the
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), now the Surface Transportation
Board (Board), for authority to construct and operate an 8.62-mile rail
line from the Geismar Industrial area to its mainline near Gonzales and
Sorrento, in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. On July 16, 1997, the Board's
Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) issued a draft EIS. Consistent
with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), SEA provided
a 45-day comment period for the public review of the draft EIS, with
comments due by September 8, 1997.
Several parties, including the Concerned Citizens of Ascension
Parish (CCAP), Illinois Central Railroad (IC), members of Congress, and
local individuals have requested that the comment period be extended an
[[Page 46797]]
additional 60 days and also requested a public hearing. KCS replied to
these petitions stating in essence that petitioners had not provided
sufficient reason why the 45-day comment period was inadequate.
In carefully reviewing CCAP's concerns, as well as those expressed
by other parties, SEA believes that the 45-day comment period specified
by CEQ guidelines is sufficient in this case. However, in order to
allow every opportunity for public input into the Board's NEPA process
in this case, SEA will accept comments to the draft EIS for an
additional 15 days past the current due date of September 8, 1997.
Comments to the draft EIS will now be due on September 23, 1997.
If you wish to file comments on the draft EIS, send an original and
10 copies to: Vernon A. Williams, Secretary, Surface Transportation
Board, Suite 700, 1925 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20423. Mark the
lower left corner of the envelope: Attention: Michael Dalton,
Environmental Comments, Finance Docket No. 32530.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Dalton, Section of
Environmental Analysis, Room 528, Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20423; phone number (202) 565-1530. TDD for
the hearing impaired: (202) 565-1695.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Because the Board served the draft EIS on
the parties of record on July 16, 1997 and the 45-day comment period
did not begin until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published
the Notice of EIS Availability in the Federal Register on July 25,
1997, the actual total time between the service and distribution of the
draft EIS and the end of the comment period is 55 days. The additional
15-day extension results in a 70-day comment period.
In addition, CEQ guidelines and the Board's environmental rules do
not require a public hearing to solicit comments on a draft EIS. SEA
believes that the submission of written comments, which is the Board's
normal procedure, is sufficient to develop the record in this case. In
this regard, the Board has found that written comments provide
necessary and effective written documentation of environmental issues
and concerns for our public record.
By the Board, Elaine K. Kaiser, Chief, Section of Environmental
Analysis.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-23462 Filed 9-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P