[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 208 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61211-61212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21181]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-1003X]


Mohall Central Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Nelson, 
Ramsey, and Cavalier Counties, ND

    Mohall Central Railroad, Inc. (MCR), has filed a notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a 44.44-mile rail line (the Line),\1\ extending from milepost 
3.75, approximately 3.75 miles north of Lakota, to milepost 48.19, 
approximately 4.0 miles south of Munich, in Nelson, Ramsey, and 
Cavalier Counties, ND.\2\ The line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Codes 58321, 58330, 58338, 58344, 58345, and 58352.
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    \1\ In its verified notice of exemption filed under STB Finance 
Docket No. 34759, Mohall Central Railroad, Inc.--Acquisition and 
Operation Exemption--Rail Line of BNSF Railway Company, MCR stated 
that, pursuant to an operating agreement between it and Northern 
Plains Railroad, Inc. (NPR), NPR would operate a 69.15-mile rail 
line, which includes the 44.44-mile Line, and that a track 
connection between NPR and the acquired line would be constructed. 
In Mohall Central Railroad, Inc.--Acquisition and Operation 
Exemption--Rail Line of BNSF Railway Company, STB Finance Docket No. 
34759 (STB served Oct. 25, 2005) (Mohall Central), NPR was informed 
that it would need to file a request for operating authority prior 
to commencing operations over the line and obtain construction 
authority under 49 U.S.C. 10901 before building connecting track. In 
Northern Plains Railroad, Inc.--Operation Exemption--Rail Line of 
Mohall Central Railroad, Inc., STB Finance Docket No. 34780 (STB 
served Dec. 29, 2005), NPR filed a notice of exemption to operate 
the line. The exemption became effective on January 28, 2006. 
Generally, NPR would be required to obtain discontinuance authority 
before MCR could abandon the Line at issue here. However, MCR 
provides, in its verified notice in this proceeding, a date of last 
service over the Line that is prior to the date that NPR obtained 
operating authority, which suggests that NPR never began service 
over the Line. Therefore, because operating authority is permissive, 
and NPR did not appear to begin service, MCR does not need NPR to 
obtain discontinuance authority before MCR seeks abandonment here.
    \2\ Pursuant to section 402 of the Department of Transportation 
and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1982 (Pub. L. No. 97-102, 
95 Stat. 1442, 1465), the Burlington Northern Railroad Company (BN) 
and its successors in interest, including BNSF Railway Company 
(BNSF), generally are prohibited from abandoning in excess of 350 
miles of rail line in North Dakota, a mileage total that has already 
been reached. This limitation also applies to third-party purchasers 
of BNSF rail lines that are subject to the limitation. Because MCR 
purchased the Line from BNSF, the Line normally would be subject to 
the 350-mile limitation. See Mohall Central. However, Congress 
amended section 402 in the Department of Transportation and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992, Pub. L. 102-143, section 343, 105 
Stat. 917, 948 (1991), narrowing the restriction on processing BNSF 
(or third-party purchasers of BNSF rail lines) abandonment 
applications so that the 350-mile limitation no longer applies to 
exemptions for out-of-service rail lines under 49 CFR 1152.50 in 
North Dakota.
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    MCR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the line 
that would have 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 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 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 November 28, 2007, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental

[[Page 61212]]

issues,\3\ formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 
1152.29 must be filed by November 8, 2007. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by November 19, 2007, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street, SW., 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 $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to MCR's 
representative: Michael J. Barron, Jr., Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North 
Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606-2832.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    MCR has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by November 2, 2007. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to SEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 
20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at (202) 245-0305. [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), MCR 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 MCR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 29, 2008, 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: October 23, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-21181 Filed 10-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P