[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 160 (Wednesday, August 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50381-50382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20519]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 490X)]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in King County, 
Wash.

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon 1,100 linear feet of rail line between milepost 4.53 and the 
end of the line at Engineering Station 258+07 in Seattle, King County, 
Wash. (the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip 
Code 98119.
    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has been handled over 
the Line since prior to 1995; (2) no overhead traffic has been handled 
on the Line since prior to 1995; (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

[[Page 50382]]

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 September 18, 2015, 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 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by August 31, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 8, 2015, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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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 
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.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicant's representative: Karl Morell, Karl Morell & Associates, 655 
Fifteenth Street NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed environmental and historic reports that address the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic 
resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by August 
24, 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 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 August 19, 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: August 14, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-20519 Filed 8-18-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P