[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73817-73818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23931]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-882 (Sub-No. 2X)]


Minnesota Commercial Railway Company--Discontinuance of Trackage 
Rights Exemption--in Washington County, MN

    The Minnesota Commercial Railway Company (MNNR) has filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Services to discontinue trackage 
rights over a 0.99-mile line of railroad owned by BNSF Railway Company 
(BNSF) between milepost 11.81 and milepost 12.80, in Stillwater, 
Washington County, MN.\1\ This line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Code 55082.\2\
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    \1\ MNNR's trackage rights were the subject of an exemption in 
Minnesota Commercial Railway, Inc.--Trackage Rights Exemption--
Burlington Northern Railroad Company, Finance Docket No. 31603 ICC 
served Feb. 26, 1990).
    \2\ BNSF received abandonment authority for the 0.99-mile line 
segment in The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company--
Abandonment Exemption--in Washington County, MN, STB Docket No. AB-6 
(Sub-No. 413X) (STB served May 28, 2004). The May 28 notice stated 
that, if consummation has not been effected by BNSF's filing of a 
notice of consummation by May 28, 2005, and there are no legal or 
regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will 
automatically expire. Also, on April 22, 2005, BNSF filed a request 
to extend the consummation deadline until December 31, 2005, and by 
decision served May 10, 2005, that deadline was extended until 
December 31, 2005. In any event, BNSF may not consummate abandonment 
until MNNR receives authority to discontinue its trackage rights 
over the line.
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    MNNR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has been handled to 
or from any customer for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has 
been handled on the line for at least 2 years and, the line is not 
capable of handling overhead traffic as it is stub-ended; (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 reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 
(historic reports), 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 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 January 12, 2006, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ and

[[Page 73818]]

formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2),\4\ must be filed by December 23, 2005. Petitions to 
reopen must be filed by January 3, 2006, with: Surface Transportation 
Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \3\ 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.
    \4\ 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' representative: Karl Morell, Ball Janik LLP, 1455 F St., 
NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF previously filed an environmental and historic report which 
addressed the effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on 
the environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) based on the information in that report by December 16, 
2005. 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 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, and historic preservation conditions will be 
imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent decision.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: December 6, 2005.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-23931 Filed 12-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P