[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69626-69627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22519]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 226X); STB Docket No. AB-654X]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Cameron 
County, TX; Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad Company--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Cameron County, TX

    The Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and Brownsville & Rio 
Grande International Railroad Company (B&RG) have jointly filed a 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and

[[Page 69627]]

Discontinuances of Service for UP to abandon, and for B&RG to 
discontinue service over, 2.2 miles of railroad between milepost 0.00, 
near UP Main Switch, and milepost 2.20, near Arthur Street, in Cameron 
County, TX.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip 
Codes 78520 and 78521.
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    \1\ The October 27, 2005 filing was amended on November 3, 2005.
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    UP and B&RG have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved 
over the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the 
line can be rerouted over other lines; (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 these conditions adequately protect 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 December 16, 2005, 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 
November 28, 2005. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by December 6, 2005, 
with: Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \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 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.
    \3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which 
currently is set at $1,200. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representatives: Mack H. Shumate, Jr., 101 North Wacker 
Drive, Room 1920, Chicago, IL 60606; and William L. Rentfro, The 
Rentfro Faulk Law Firm, LLP, 185 E. Ruben M. Torres, Sr. Blvd., 
Brownsville, TX 78520.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    UP and B&RG have filed environmental and historic reports which 
address the effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on 
the environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by November 21, 2005. 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) 565-1539. 
[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), UP 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 UP's filing of a notice of consummation by 
November 16, 2006, 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: November 4, 2005.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-22519 Filed 11-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P