[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 120 (Friday, June 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35201-35202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13962]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-260 (Sub-No. 2X)]


Rarus Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Deer Lodge 
County, MT

    Rarus Railway Company (Rarus) has filed a notice of exemption under 
49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon its Anaconda/West 
Valley Line, an approximately 4.7-mile line of railroad, extending 
between a point at Pennsylvania Avenue west of the West Anaconda Yard 
in Anaconda, MT, and a point at North Cable Road approximately 4.2 
miles west of Anaconda, in Deer Lodge County, MT. The line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Code 59711.
    Rarus has 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 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 report), 49 
CFR

[[Page 35202]]

1105.8 (historic report),\1\ 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.
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    \1\ The Board's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) has 
approved the request of Rarus to submit a preliminary draft 
environmental assessment in lieu of the environmental and historic 
reports required by 49 CFR 1105.7 and 49 CFR 1105.8.
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    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 July 22, 2008, unless stayed pending reconsideration.\2\ 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental 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 
June 30, 2008. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by July 10, 2008, with: 
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
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    \2\ The earliest this transaction may be consummated is July 22, 
2008. Rarus confirmed this date by letter filed on June 5, 2008.
    \3\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on 
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by 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 
Rarus' representative: James E. Howard, One Thompson Square, Suite 201, 
Charlestown, MA 02129.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Rarus has filed environmental and historic correspondence pursuant 
to its discussions with SEA regarding submission of a preliminary draft 
environmental assessment. SEA will issue an environmental assessment 
(EA) by June 27, 2008. 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), Rarus 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 Rarus' filing of a notice of 
consummation by June 20, 2009, 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: June 16, 2008.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Anne K. Quinlan,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-13962 Filed 6-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P