[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76912-76913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24558]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 435X); STB Docket No. AB-987X]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Rock Island and 
Whiteside Counties, IL; Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad Corporation--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Rock Island and Whiteside 
Counties, IL

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) and Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad 
Corporation (ICE) have jointly filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 
1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for 
BNSF to abandon, and for ICE to discontinue service over, approximately 
5.09 miles of railroad between milepost 20.31 and milepost 25.40, near 
Albany, in Rock Island and Whiteside Counties, IL. The line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Codes 61230, 61242, and 61252.
    BNSF and ICE 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 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 January 26, 2006, 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 
January 6, 2006. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 17, 2006, 
with: Surface Transportation

[[Page 76913]]

Board, 1925 K Street, NW., 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 $1,200. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \3\ In response to the abandonment notice for the above-
described rail line, the Village of Albany has filed requests for 
issuance of a public use condition under 49 U.S.C. 10905, and 
issuance of an interim trail use condition pursuant to section 8(d) 
of the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). The Board will 
address both requests, and any others that may be timely filed, in a 
separate decision.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representatives: Michael Smith, 311 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 
3000, Chicago, IL 60606-6677, and Karl Morell, 1455 F Street, NW., 
Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    BNSF and ICE 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 December 30, 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), 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 December 27, 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: December 22, 2005.

    By the Board,
David M. Konschnik,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-24558 Filed 12-27-05 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P