26842 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 /Thursday, May 14, 1998 / Notices

1 On May 1, 1998, B&M informed the Board of

the actual mileposts in addition to the Engineering

Stations identified in its verified notice.

2 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 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.

3 Each offer of financial assistance must be

accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is

set at $1,000. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

waiver of compliance with certain

requirements of Title 49, Code of

Federal Regulations, Part 213: Track

Safety Standards.

The purpose of the petition is to

request of the Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) relief from

compliance with the provisions of 49

CFR 213.233(c) of the Federal Track

Safety Standards. The petitioner

requests approval to eliminate one of

two weekly visual track inspections

required by this section for track

carrying passenger traffic. Petitioner

proposes, in the interest of equivalent

safety, to substitute for the eliminated

visual inspection the operation of a

track geometry measuring vehicle over

the affected main track and sidings on

a quarterly basis. Such equipment does

not operate over the tracks of the

petitioner today.

Interested parties are invited to

participate in these proceedings by

submitting written views, data or

comments. FRA does not anticipate

scheduling a public hearing in

connection with these proceedings since

the facts do not appear to warrant a

hearing. If any interested party desires

an opportunity for oral comment, they

should notify FRA, in writing, before

the end of the comment period and

specify the basis for their request.

All communications concerning these

proceedings should identify the

appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver

Petition Number RST–97–5 and must be

submitted in triplicate to the Docket

Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal

Railroad Administration, 400 Seventh

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590.

Communications received within 30

days of publication of this notice will be

considered by FRA before final action is

taken. Comments received after that

date will be considered as far as

practicable. All written communications

concerning these proceedings are

available for examination during regular

business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

in Room 7051, 1120 Vermont Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC, 20005.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on May 4,

1998.

Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety

Standards and Program Development.

[FR Doc. 98–12768 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket Nos. AB–32 (Sub–No. 86X) and

AB–355 (Sub-No. 24X)]

Boston and Maine Corporation—

Abandonment Exemption—in

Middlesex County, MA and Springfield

Terminal Railway Company—

Discontinuance of Service

Exemption—in Middlesex County, MA

Boston & Maine Corporation (B&M)

and Springfield Terminal Railway

Company (ST) have filed a notice of

exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152

Subpart F—Exempt Abandonments and

Discontinuances for B&M to abandon

and ST to discontinue service over a

1.82-mile line of railroad known as the

Watertown Branch from milepost 5.85

(Engineering Station 87+90) to milepost

7.67 (Engineering Station 184+25) in

Middlesex County, MA. The line

traverses United States Postal Service

Zip Code 02172.1

B&M and ST have certified that: (1)

No local traffic has moved over the line

for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead

traffic has been 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, 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 May 26, 1998. Petitions

to reopen or requests for public use

conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must

be filed by June 3, 1998, with: Surface

Transportation Board, Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.

A copy of any petition filed with the

Board should be sent to applicant

representative: John R. Nadolny, Esq.,

Boston and Maine Corporation, Law

Department, Iron Horse Park, North

Billerica, MA 01862.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.

B&M and ST have filed an

environmental report which addresses

the effects of the abandonment and

discontinuance, if any, on the

environment and historic resources. The

Section of Environmental Analysis

(SEA) will issue an environmental

assessment (EA) by May 19, 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), B&M 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

B&M’s filing of a notice of

consummation by May 14, 1999, and

there are no legal or regulatory barriers

to consummation, the authority to

abandon will automatically expire.

Decided: May 6, 1998.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 93 /Thursday, May 14, 1998 / Notices 26843

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–12696 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

[AC–17: OTS No. 0325]

First Kansas Federal Savings

Association, Osawatomie, KS;

Approval of Conversion Application

Notice is hereby given that on May 4,

1998, the Director, Corporate Activities,

Office of Thrift Supervision, or her

designee, acting pursuant to delegated

authority, approved the application of

First Kansas Federal Savings

Association, Osawatomie, Kansas, to

convert to the stock form of

organization. Copies of the application

are available for inspection at the

Dissemination Branch, Office of Thrift

Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20552, and the

Midwest Regional Office, Office of

Thrift Supervision, 122 W. John

Carpenter Freeway, Suite 600, Irving,

Texas 75039–2010.

Dated: May 8, 1998.

By the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Nadine Y. Washington,

Corporate Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–12817 Filed 5–13–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6720–01–M