30560 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Notices

1Union Pacific Corporation, Union Pacific

Railroad Company, and Missouri Pacific Railroad

Company—Control and Merger—Southern Pacific

Rail Corporation, Southern Pacific Transportation

Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway

Company, SCPSL Corp., and The Denver and Rio

Grande Western Railroad Company, Finance Docket

No. 32760 (UP/SP Merger), Decision No. 44 (STB

served Aug. 12, 1996).

2The Board instituted this proceeding in Finance

Docket No. 32760 (Sub-No. 21), Decision No. 12

(published in the Federal Register on April 3, 1998

(63 FR 16628)), pursuant to the 5-year oversight

condition that it imposed upon its approval of the

UP/SP Merger. By decision served May 19, 1998,

the Board corrected the March 31 decision by

designating the docket number for the Houston/Gulf

Coast Oversight proceeding as Finance Docket No.

32760 (Sub-No. 26) rather than (Sub-No. 21), and

designating Decision No. 12 in Sub-No. 21 as

Decision No. 1 in Sub-No. 26.

ADDRESSES: Send an original plus 10

copies of all pleadings, referring to STB

Finance Docket No. 33601, to: Surface

Transportation Board, Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K

Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001, ATTN: STB Finance Docket No.

33601. In addition, pleadings must

certify that a copy has been served on

GTW’s representatives: Robert P. vom

Eigen and Jamie Palter Rennert, Hopkins

& Sutter, 888 Sixteenth Street, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 565–1600.

[TDD for the hearing impaired: (202)

565–1695.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By

petition filed on May 20, 1998, GTW

requests that we issue an order under 5

U.S.C. 554(e) and 49 U.S.C. 721(a)

declaring that certain tracks located near

the Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI,

are ‘‘spur, industrial, team, switching, or

side tracks’’ that are, under 49 U.S.C.

10906, exempt from Board authority

over the abandonment and purchase of

lines of railroad. The tracks at issue

extend from GTW’s Dequindre Line at

mileposts 0.57, 0.71, and 0.81,

respectively, near the Detroit riverfront.

GTW has requested expedited

consideration of its petition so that

plans for the sale and development of

the parcels of land underlying these

tracks may proceed promptly.

According to GTW, this land is to be

developed to support (a) relocation of

General Motors Corporation’s global

headquarters to the Renaissance Center

on the Detroit riverfront and (b) a casino

district designated by the City of Detroit.

By this notice, the Board is requesting

comments on GTW’s petition.

Board decisions and notices are

available on our website at

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’

Decided: May 28, 1998.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–14730 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[STB Finance Docket No. 32760 (Sub-No.

26)]

Union Pacific Corporation, Union

Pacific Railroad Company, and

Missouri Pacific Railroad Company;

Control and Merger; Southern Pacific

Rail Corporation, Southern Pacific

Transportation Company, St. Louis

Southwestern Railway Company,

SPCSL Corp., and The Denver and Rio

Grande Western Railroad Company;

(Houston/Gulf Coast Oversight)

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Decision No. 5; Notice of

extension to file requests for additional

conditions to the UP/SP merger for the

Houston, Texas/Gulf Coast area, and

revisions to procedural schedule.

SUMMARY: The Board is granting a

motion filed May 20, 1998, by the Texas

Mexican Railway Company, the Kansas

City Southern Railway Company, the

Chemical Manufacturers Association,

the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc.,

the Texas Chemical Council, and the

Railroad Commission of Texas,

collectively requesting an extension

until July 8, 1998, to file requests and

supporting evidence for additional

remedial conditions to the UP/SP

merger 1 as they pertain to rail service in

the Houston, Texas/Gulf Coast region.

As a result, the Board is issuing the

revised procedural schedule set forth at

the end of this decision.

DATES: Under the revised schedule, the

proceeding will now commence on July

8, 1998. On that date, all interested

parties must file requests for new

remedial conditions to the UP/SP

merger regarding the Houston/Gulf

Coast area, along with all supporting

evidence. The Board will publish a

notice of acceptance of requests for new

conditions in the Federal Register by

August 7, 1998. Notices of intent to

participate in the oversight proceeding

are due August 28, 1998. All comments,

evidence, and argument opposing the

requested new conditions are due

September 18, 1998. Rebuttal in support

of the requested conditions is due

October 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: An original plus 25 copies

of all documents, referring to STB

Finance Docket No. 32760 (Sub-No. 26),

must be sent to the Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, ATTN:

STB Finance Docket No. 32760 (Sub-No.

26), Surface Transportation Board, 1925

K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 565–1600.

[TDD for the hearing impaired: (202)

565–1695.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March

31, 1998, the Board instituted an

oversight proceeding to consider

requests for additional conditions to the

UP/SP Merger for the Houston/Gulf

Coast area, including those that seek

divestiture of certain of the merged

carriers’ property.2 All interested

persons were directed to file their

requests, along with all supporting

evidence, by June 8, 1998.

On May 20, 1998, the above-named

parties moved for a 30-day extension of

that date to July 8, 1998. They state that

they are working toward a consensus

with respect to conditions that they may

request, and that additional time is

needed to coordinate their proposal and

prepare all supporting evidence. The

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Railway Company (BNSF) and the

National Industrial Transportation

League filed letters stating that they do

not oppose the extension. If the Board

grants the motion, however, BNSF urges

that the revised due date for filing

requests for conditions, and other

adjustments to the procedural schedule,

be made applicable for all interested

persons. UP has asked the Board to

adhere to the present schedule.

We do not believe that a 30-day

extension for filing requested conditions

will unduly burden UP or delay our

disposition of these matters.

Accordingly, we will extend the

deadline for filing requested conditions,

make other related adjustments to the

procedural schedule, and make them

applicable for all other interested

persons.

As set forth in the revised procedural

schedule, parties that wish to request

new remedial conditions to the UP/SP

merger as they pertain to the Houston/

Gulf Coast region must file them, along

with their supporting evidence, by July

8, 1998; the remainder of the procedural
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 107 /Thursday, June 4, 1998 / Notices 30561

3The only change in the timing of the

presentations is that comments in opposition to

requests for conditions will be due approximately

six weeks after the Board’s notice of acceptance of

such requests is published in the Federal Register,

rather than the approximately five weeks afforded

in the initial schedule. That is because the oral

argument in No. 96–1373, Western Coal Traffic

League v. STB (D.C. Cir.), the proceeding reviewing

the Board’s UP/SP merger decision, will be held on

September 11, 1998.

1This notice of exemption is related to Finance

Docket No. 32760, Union Pacific Corporation,

Union Pacific Railroad Company, and Missouri

Pacific Railroad Company— Control and Merger—

Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, Southern Pacific

Transportation Company, St. Louis Southwestern

Railway Company, SPCSL Corp., and The Denver

and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company.

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

Company (DGRW) previously owned the involved

line of railroad, which became a line on the UP after

DRGW was merged into UP on June 30, 1997.

However, the Board granted discontinuance

authority rather than full abandonment over the

Sage-Leadville Line in Docket No. AB–8 (Sub-No.

36X), The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

Company—Discontinuance Exemption—SageLeadville Line In Eagle and Lake Counties, CO and

Docket No. AB–8 (Sub-No. 39), The Denver and Rio

Grande Western Railroad Company—

Discontinuance—Malta-Canon City Line, In Lake,

Chaffee and Fremont Counties, CO, See Finance

Docket No. 32760 (ICC served Aug. 12, 1996). In

this filing, UP is seeking to abandon the stub end

of the line.

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners

(Lake County) filed a request for issuance of a

notice of interim trail use (NITU) for the entire line

pursuant to section 8(d) of the National Trails

System Act, 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). The Board will

address Lake County’s trail use request, and any

others that may be filed, in a subsequent decision.

2The 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.

3Each offer of financial assistance must be

accompanied by the filing fee, which is currently

set at $1000. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

schedule is adjusted accordingly. In all

other respects, the March 31 decision

instituting this proceeding (as corrected

on May 19) remains essentially the

same.3

This action will not significantly

affect either the quality of the human

environment or the conservation of

energy resources.

Decided: May 29, 1998.

By the Board, Chairman Morgan and Vice

Chairman Owen.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Revised Procedural Schedule

July 8, 1998

Requests for new remedial conditions

(with supporting evidence) filed.

August 7, 1998

Board notice of acceptance of requests

for new conditions published in the

Federal Register.

August 28, 1998

Notice of intent to participate in

proceeding due.

September 18, 1998

All comments, evidence, and

argument opposing requests for new

remedial conditions to the merger

due. Comments by U.S. Department

of Justice and U.S. Department of

Transportation due.

October 16, 1998

Rebuttal evidence and argument in

support of requests for new

conditions due.

The necessity of briefing, oral

argument, and voting conference will be

determined after the Board’s review of

the pleadings.

[FR Doc. 98–14833 Filed 6–3–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB–33 (Sub–No. 117X)]

Union Pacific Railroad Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in Lake

County, CO

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP)

has filed a notice of exemption under 49

CFR Part 1152 Subpart F—Exempt

Abandonments to abandon an

approximately 1.8-mile portion of the

Leadville Branch from milepost 274.3

near McWethy Drive to the end of the

line at milepost 276.1 at the rail yard

near U.S. Highway 24, in Leadville,

Lake County, CO.1 The line traverses

United States Postal Service Zip Code

80461.

UP has certified that: (1) no local

traffic has moved over the line for at

least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic

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 July 4, 1998, 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 trail use/rail banking

requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be

filed by June 15, 1998. Petitions to

reopen or requests for public use

conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must

be filed by June 24, 1998, 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: Joseph D. Anthofer,

General Attorney, Union Pacific

Railroad Company, 1416 Dodge Street,

Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.

UP 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 June 9, 1998. 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), UP 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

UP’s filing of a notice of consummation

by June 4, 1999, 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 28, 1998.