[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 100 (Thursday, May 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 36298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 395X)]


The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Cherokee County, KS, and Jasper County, MO

    The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) has 
filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon and discontinue service over a 28.25-mile line 
of railroad between milepost 343.55 in Columbus, Cherokee County, KS, 
and milepost 315.30 in Carthage, Jasper County, MO. The line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Codes 66725, 66728, 64834, 64835 and 
64836.
    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic 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 (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 and 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, this exemption will be 
effective on June 22, 2002, 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 
June 3, 2002.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by June 12, 2002, with: 
Surface Transportation Board, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20423.
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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 offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by 
the filing fee, which as of April 8, 2002, is set at $1,100. See 49 
CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \3\ The City of Carl Junction and the Joplin Trail Coalition 
filed a request for issuance of a notice of interim trail use (NITU) 
for Missouri portion of the line (milepost 331.23 to milepost 
315.30) pursuant to section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act, 
16 U.S.C. 1247(d). The Board will address the trail use request, and 
any others that may be filed in a subsequent decision.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicant's representative: Michael Smith, Freeborn & Peters, 311 S. 
Wacker Dr., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60606-6677.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed an environmental report which addresses the 
abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic 
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by May 28, 
2002. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA 
(Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by 
calling SEA, at (202) 565-1552. [TDD for the hearing impaired is 
available 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 May 23, 2003, 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 website at 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: May 17, 2002.

    By the Board, Beryl Gordon, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-12994 Filed 5-22-02; 8:45 am]
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