[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 45015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18446]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 489X)]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Kane County, Ill.

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon 0.43 miles of rail line between milepost 4.0 and milepost 3.57 
in North Aurora, Kane County, Ill. (the Line).\1\ The Line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Code 60542.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ BNSF states that the rail line between milepost 3.57 and 
milepost 3.53 was abandoned in 2007 to accommodate a highway 
expansion project, leaving the Line as ``an island,'' i.e., severing 
it from the national rail system. In addition, BNSF says that the 
Line was inadvertently salvaged as part of the expansion project. It 
should not have required the passage of 8 years and the occasion of 
the Line's sale to the Village of North Aurora to bring those 
actions to the Board's attention.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
Line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
Line for at least two years; (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 a 
complainant within the two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 
CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental 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 this exemption, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line 
Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in 
Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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 August 27, 2015, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\2\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by August 7, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by August 17, 2015, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on 
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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.
    \3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicant's representative: Karl Morell, Karl Morell & Associates, 
Suite 225, 655 Fifteenth St. NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by July 31, 2015. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 
20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the 
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at (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 filing of a notice of 
consummation by July 28, 2016, 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 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

    Decided: July 23, 2015.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clarence Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-18446 Filed 7-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P