[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6517-6518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2460]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35380]


San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad--Petition for a Declaratory Order

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Staff members of the Surface Transportation Board will hold a 
public meeting concerning the declaratory order proceeding in the 
above-titled docket. The purpose of the meeting is to allow interested 
persons to comment on the issues raised in the proceeding.
    Date/Location: The public meeting will take place on Thursday, 
February 17, 2011, beginning at 10 a.m. (local time), in Our Lady of 
Guadalupe Parish Hall, 6631 County Road 13, Conejos, Colorado 81129.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 245-0395. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to a petition filed by San Luis 
& Rio Grande Railroad (SLRG), the Board instituted a declaratory order 
proceeding under 5 U.S.C. 554(e) and 49 U.S.C. 721 on August 12, 2010, 
to determine whether the Board's jurisdiction preempts the land-use 
code of Conejos County, Colorado (County) that may otherwise apply to 
SLRG's proposed operation of a truck-to-rail transload facility in 
Antonito, Colorado. See San Luis & Rio Grande R.R.--Petition for a 
Declaratory Order, FD 35380 (STB served Aug. 12, 2010) (August 
decision). Specifically, the facility will be used to transfer 
containers and/or bags of contaminated dirt and debris from trucks 
originating at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to 
railcars.
    In the August decision instituting a proceeding, the Board opened 
the matter for public comment on the petition and gave SLRG the 
opportunity

[[Page 6518]]

to supplement its filing. The Board requested that the filings focus on 
issues related to the Clean Railroads Act of 2008, 49 U.S.C. 
10501(c)(2), 10908-10910 (CRA), including whether SLRG's containers are 
original shipping containers under 49 U.S.C. 10908(e)(1)(H)(i), and 
whether the dirt SLRG plans to transload and transport is subject to 
the CRA. The August decision also established an initial procedural 
schedule.
    In response to the Board's request for public comments, several 
entities and individuals filed comments. One such entity, Conejos 
County Clean Water, Inc. (CCCW) included in its extensive comments a 
request for the opportunity to provide oral public comments on what the 
Board deemed novel issues at a hearing proceeding in Conejos County. In 
support of this request, CCCW attached a letter from its Chair 
explaining that Conejos County is the poorest county in Colorado with a 
median income of $24,744, making it almost impossible for its residents 
to travel to Washington, DC to participate in this proceeding. By 
decision served December 20, 2010, the Board granted the request for a 
public meeting in Conejos County to be held by Board staff to give 
local stakeholders the opportunity to provide public comment on the 
proceeding.
    During the public meeting, Board staff will hear comments regarding 
the declaratory order proceeding. The meeting will continue until all 
interested persons or parties have had an opportunity to speak. Persons 
wishing to speak should place their names on the list of speakers upon 
arrival at the Parish Hall of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. A court 
reporter will transcribe the meeting and prepare a transcript that will 
be included in the public record of the proceeding.
    All decisions, notices, and filings in this proceeding are 
available on the Board's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov. A 
transcript of the meeting will also be posted on the Board's Web site.
    This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the 
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

    Dated: January 31, 2011.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-2460 Filed 2-3-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P