Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Department of Transportation

###### Surface Transportation Board 

          - [STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 387X)] 

                    The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F—                    *Exempt Abandonments*                     to abandon a 4.89-mile line of its railroad between milepost 81.11 near St. Joseph and milepost 86.00 near Collegeville, in Stearns County, MN. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 56321, 56374 and 56375.                 

BNSF 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 Surface Transportation Board (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 June 13, 2000, 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 trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by May 22, 2000. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by June 1, 2000, with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423.                 

A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to applicant's representative: Sarah Whitley Bailiff, Senior General Attorney, The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, 2500 Lou Menk Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76131-2828. 

                    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void                     *ab initio.*

BNSF has filed an environmental report which addresses the abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by May 17, 2000. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1545. 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 BNSF's filing of a notice of consummation by May 12, 2001, 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 website at “WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.” 

Decided: May 4, 2000. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary.

# Footnotes

1.                             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 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.                    
        Back to Citation      

2.                             Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is set at $1000.                         *See*49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).                    
        Back to Citation      

[FR Doc. 00-11840 Filed 5-11-00; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915-00-P