[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 51 (Friday, March 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12673-12674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4768]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-6 (Sub-No. 448X)]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Thurston County, 
WA

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a notice of exemption under 
49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 0.86-mile 
line of railroad that extends between Engineering Station 476+09 and 
Engineering Station 521+42 near Olympia, in Thurston County, WA. The 
line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 98502.
    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic handled 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 
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 April 17, 2007, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an

[[Page 12674]]

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and trail use/rail banking requests 
under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by March 26, 2007. Petitions to 
reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must 
be filed by April 5, 2007, with: Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 (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.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which 
currently is set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
BNSF's representative: Sidney L. Strickland, Jr., Sidney Strickland and 
Associates, PLLC, 3050 K Street, NW., Suite 101, Washington, DC 20007.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed environmental and historic reports which address the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic 
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by March 23, 
2007. 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), 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 March 16, 2008, 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: March 8, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-4768 Filed 3-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P