Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Notices 63747

1Pursuant to the terms of an operating agreement,

PHL’s operating rights will be for a term of three

years, subject to extension, modification, and earlier

termination.

1The Amador Branch includes a yard and repair

shops at Martell as well as additional spur trackage

at the Sierra Pacific mill and particle board plant

located at milepost 11.6.

employees. Section 11326(c), however,

does not provide for labor protection for

transactions under sections 11324 and

11325 that involve only Class III rail

carriers. Because this transaction

involves Class III rail carriers only, the

Board, under the statute, may not

impose labor protective conditions for

this transaction.

If the notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)

may be filed at any time. The filing of

a petition to revoke will not

automatically stay the transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all

pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 33412, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on Mark H.

Sidman, Esq., Weiner, Brodsky, Sidman

& Kider, P.C., 1350 New York Avenue,

NW., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005–

4797.

Decided: November 24, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–31559 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33411]

Pacific Harbor Line, Inc.—Operation

Exemption—Port of Los Angeles

Pacific Harbor Line, Inc. (PHL), a

noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of

exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to

acquire operating rights from the City of

Los Angeles, a municipal corporation,

acting through its Board of Harbor

Commissioners (LA). PHL will acquire

the right to operate within LA’s Port of

Los Angeles (POLA) to provide

switching services on track owned by

POLA.1

The transaction was expected to be

consummated in phases on or after

November 15, 1997.

This transaction is related to STB

Finance Docket No. 33412, Peter A.

Gilbertson, H. Terry Hearst, Bruce A.

Lieberman, R. Lawrence McCaffrey, Jr.,

Harold F. Parmly, and Anacostia Rail

Holdings—Continuance in Control

Exemption—Pacific Harbor Line, Inc., in

which Peter A. Gilbertson, H. Terry

Hearst, Bruce Lieberman, R. Lawrence

McCaffrey, Jr., Harold F. Parmly and

Anacostia Rail Holdings Company have

filed a notice of exemption to continue

in control of PHL upon its becoming a

Class III rail carrier.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio. Petitions to reopen the

proceeding to revoke the exemption

under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed

at any time. The filing of a petition to

revoke will not automatically stay the

transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all

pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 33411, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on Mark H.

Sidman, Esq., Weiner, Brodsky, Sidman

& Kider, P.C., 1350 New York Avenue,

N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC

20005–4797.

Decided: November 24, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–31558 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33525]

Sierra Railroad Company—Acquisition

and Operation Exemption—Sierra

Pacific Industries

Sierra Railroad Company, a Class III

rail common carrier, has filed a notice

of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to

acquire and operate approximately 12

miles of rail line in Amador County, CA,

known as the Amador Branch, from

Sierra Pacific Industries (Sierra Pacific).

The Amador Branch extends from

milepost 0.0, in Ione, to milepost 12.0,

at Martell.1

The transaction is scheduled to be

consummated on December 1, 1997.

If the notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)

may be filed at any time. The filing of

a petition to revoke does not

automatically stay the transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all

pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 33525, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on James F.

Flint, Esq., Grove, Jaskiewicz and

Cobert, 1730 M Street, NW., Suite 400,

Washington, DC 20036.

Decided: November 24, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–31560 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB–57 (Sub-No. 43X)]

Soo Line Railroad Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in St. Louis

County, MN

Soo Line Railroad Company (Soo) has

filed a notice of exemption under 49

CFR 1152 Subpart F—Exempt

Abandonments to abandon an

approximately 3.0+-mile line of railroad

known as the West Duluth Line,

between milepost 465.43+ and milepost

468.43+ in West Duluth, in St. Louis

County, MN. The line traverses United

States Postal Service Zip Code 55802.

Soo 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; (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
63748 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 2, 1997 / Notices

1The 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 Outof-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.

2Each offer of financial assistance must be

accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is

set at $900. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

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 January 1, 1998, 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 December 12,

1997. Petitions to reopen or requests for

public use conditions under 49 CFR

1152.28 must be filed by December 22,

1997, 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: Larry D. Starns, Esq.,

Leonard, Street & Deinard, 150 South

Fifth Street, Suite 2300, Minneapolis,

MN 55402.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.

Soo 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 December 5, 1997. 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), Soo 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

Soo’s filing of a notice of consummation

by December 2, 1998, and there are no

legal or regulatory barriers to

consummation, the authority to

abandon will automatically expire.

Decided: November 25, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–31557 Filed 12–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Treasury Directive Number 74–13]

Premium-Class Travel, Authority

Delegation

Dated: November 24, 1997.

1. Purpose. This Directive establishes

policy and responsibilities for the

approval of premium-class

transportation accommodations, in

accordance with Chapters 301 and 304

of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR)

(41 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations)

parts 301 and 304) and White House

and Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) guidance on perquisites.

2. Definitions. The terms ‘‘premiumclass,’’ ‘‘first-class,’’ ‘‘reasonably

available,’’ and ‘‘security reasons’’ are

defined in FTR 301.3 (41 CFR 301.3).

3. Scope.

a. This Directive applies to all

bureaus, the Departmental Offices (DO),

and the Office of Inspector General

(OIG) for travel by officers and

employees of the Department when they

travel in support of the Department’s

programs, including programs funded

from sources other than appropriations,

e.g., fees or assessments. It also applies

to travel paid for by a non-Federal

source pursuant to FTR Chapter 304 (41

CFR part 304), and to travel by persons

other than employees whose travel is on

an invitational basis and paid for by the

Department.

b. Neither this Directive nor the

restrictions on premium-class travel

apply to travel:

(1) for which an employee is

reimbursed by certain tax exempt

organizations or a State, county, or

municipality, incident to attendance at

meetings, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 4111;

(2) which is accepted by an employee

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 7342, concerning

foreign gifts and decorations; or

(3) for a partisan purpose in the case

of an employee who is exempt from the

statutory prohibitions on partisan

political activity, and the travel is not

paid for with Government funds.

4. Policy. It is the policy of the

Department of the Treasury that:

a. prior authorization by the Assistant

Secretary for Management and Chief

Financial Officer is required for firstclass travel in all bureaus, except for

U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents on

protective missions;

b. first-class travel shall not be

authorized, unless no other commercial

service is reasonably available, or such

travel is necessary for reasons of

disability or physical impairment, or for

security reasons, as these terms are

defined in FTR 301–3.3 (41 CFR 301–

3.3); and

c. first-class airline accommodations

shall not be authorized or approved

when obtained as an accommodations

upgrade through the redemption of

frequent traveler benefits accumulated

while traveling on official business,

unless the first-class accommodations

are justified independently under the

FTR (41 CFR part 301).

5. Responsibilities For First-Class

Travel. The Deputy Assistant Secretary

(Administration), Heads of Bureaus, and

the Inspector General:

a. shall submit Treasury Department

Form (TD F) 70–02.6, ‘‘First-Class

Travel Request and Authorization,’’ by

mail or facsimile (FAX) to the Assistant

Secretary for Management and Chief

Financial Officer at least ten working

days prior to travel for review and

authorization, unless extenuating

circumstances or emergency situations

make advance authorization impossible.

If advance authorization cannot be

obtained, the traveler shall obtain

written authorization at the earliest

possible time;

b. except as specifically permitted

under paragraph 6., shall not authorize,

pay for, or reimburse employees or

others for the use of first-class travel

accommodations without the prior

authorization of the Assistant Secretary

for Management and Chief Financial

Officer; and

c. shall submit an annual report on all

approved first-class travel that began

during the fiscal year to the Deputy,

Chief Financial Officer (DCFO), Office

of Accounting and Internal Control, DO,

(Attention: Travel Program

Coordinator). The report is due to the

General Services Administration by

November 30 of each year. See FTR

301–3.3(e) (41 CFR 301–3.3) for data

collection and submission requirements.

Negative reports are required in writing.

6. Exceptions.

a. The Director, USSS, is delegated

authority to approve first-class travel

accommodations solely with respect to

Secret Service agents’ protective details

when necessary for security reasons.

Such approval does not require the

advance or subsequent authorization by