[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34212-34214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16530]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board
[STB Finance Docket No. 30186 (Sub-No. 3)]


Tongue River Railroad Company--Construction and Operation--in 
Rosebud and Big Horn Counties, MT

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Construction and Operation Application and Adoption 
of Initial Procedural Schedule.

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SUMMARY: The Board is publishing notice of an application filed by the 
Tongue River Railroad Company (TRRC) seeking authority to construct and 
operate 17.3 miles of track, called the Western Alignment, to be built 
between Decker, MT, and a point 17.3 miles north of Decker, to connect 
with the rail line previously approved for construction in Tongue River 
Railroad Company--Rail Construction and Operation--Ashland to Decker, 
Montana, Finance Docket No. 30186 (Sub-No. 2) (STB served Nov. 8, 1996) 
(Tongue River II). The Western Alignment is proposed as an alternative 
to a routing called the Four Mile Creek Alternative (herein, the Four 
Mile Creek Route) approved in Tongue River II. The routing of the 
Western Alignment separates from TRRC's approved Four Mile Creek 
routing approximately 20.8 miles south of the point at which the line 
connects with TRRC's approved line routing between Ashland and Miles 
City, MT, and extends southwest to the Spring Creek/Decker area of 
southeastern Montana, terminating near Decker where it will connect 
with The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company's Kennecott 
Spur.
    The Board is issuing a procedural schedule establishing filing 
dates for comments and replies on whether this application meets the 
criteria of 49 U.S.C. 10901. The Board may subsequently issue another 
notice setting forth a procedural schedule for the filing of any 
additional pleadings after completion of the necessary environmental 
analysis, if appropriate.

DATES: This notice is effective on June 23, 1998. Pleadings must be 
filed in accordance with the schedule set forth

[[Page 34213]]

in the Appendix to this notice. All filings, except notices of intent 
to participate, must be concurrently served on all parties of record 
and must be accompanied by a certificate of service.

ADDRESSES: Send an original and 10 copies of all pleadings referring to 
STB Finance Docket No. 30186 (Sub-No. 3) to: Surface Transportation 
Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20423-0001. A copy of each comment shall concurrently be 
served upon TRRC's representative: Betty Jo Christian, Esq., Steptoe & 
Johnson LLP, 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, (202) 
429-3000, FAX (202) 429-3902. One copy of each pleading must also be 
served upon: Peter Young, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First St. N.E., Washington, DC 20426.<SUP>1</SUP>

    \1\ Administrative Law Judge Young has been appointed to resolve 
all disputes on discovery issues.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 565-1600. 
[TDD for the hearing impaired: (202) 565-1695].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board's review of construction 
applications is governed by 49 U.S.C. 10901 and by the requirements of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370d 
(NEPA), and related environmental laws. Along with its application, 
TRRC has submitted a renewed petition <SUP>2</SUP> to establish a 
procedural schedule for this proceeding.<SUP>3</SUP> The schedule 
proposed by TRRC would establish due dates for submissions and Board 
action, both in considering the transportation merits of the 
application and in carrying out the environmental review process. The 
Board is adopting only that portion of TRRC's procedural schedule that 
sets due dates for filing comments (including supporting or opposing 
evidence) on issues involving whether or not the application meets the 
statutory criteria of 49 U.S.C. 10901, and for filing replies to those 
comments. The Board will not, however, set a date for issuance of a 
final decision on the merits of the application. Nor will we establish 
a procedural schedule for our environmental review of the new 
application. Rather, as discussed below, we will initiate the 
environmental review process now, and establish a procedural schedule 
for submission of any additional pleadings and issuance of a final 
decision upon completion of that process.
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    \2\ TRRC's initial request for establishment of a procedural 
schedule was denied by decision served March 24, 1998.
    \3\ Northern Cheyenne Tribe and Native Action, Inc., filed a 
reply to TRRC's request for a procedural schedule. Great Northern 
Properties Limited Partnership and Northern Plains Resource Council, 
Inc., also filed a reply to TRRC's petition. These replies are 
primarily directed to the environmental issues raised here and the 
schedule contemplated for their resolution. Since we are adopting a 
procedural schedule only for dealing with non-environmental issues, 
these petitions need not be addressed here. The United 
Transportation Union-General Committee of Adjustment and United 
Transportation Union-Montana State Legislative Board also replied 
jointly to TRRC's petition, raising concerns about technical 
compliance with our notification rules and the fairness or openness 
of our actions in this case. As discussed below, the procedural 
schedule we are adopting here provides adequate notice as well as 
ample opportunity for a full and thorough evaluation of all of the 
issues involved here.
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    We are not adopting TRRC's proposal that we set an environmental 
procedural schedule because the Board's environmental analysis depends 
on input from many sources, including Federal and state agencies, and 
at this point it is impossible to predict how long the environmental 
review process will take. Our experience has shown that the preparation 
of a NEPA document in a proceeding such as this, where a number of 
environmental issues may exist generally, does not lend itself to a 
structured time limit. Because we would be unable to assure compliance 
with TRRC's proposed schedule even if we adopted it, we see no point in 
seeking public comment on it. Rather, we will adopt a schedule for 
receiving comments and replies on whether the application meets the 
statutory criteria in 49 U.S.C. 10901. The schedule we are adopting 
here will accord all parties due process because it provides ample time 
for the submission of comments and replies. In short, the schedule we 
are adopting will allow for adequate public participation and the 
development of a sufficient record to allow the Board to determine 
whether the proposed construction meets the criteria of section 10901.
    In this proceeding, we will not issue a decision determining 
whether the proposed construction meets the statutory criteria in 49 
U.S.C. 10901 prior to completion of the environmental review process. 
TRRC has not requested this action. Our decision on the merits will 
follow completion of the environmental review process and we will 
address both transportation and environmental issues in that decision.
    We are requiring TRRC to publish notices setting forth the schedule 
we are adopting here, and to certify to us that it has done so. In 
addition to setting forth the procedural schedule, the new notices must 
state that anyone who intends to participate as a party of record by 
filing comments must file with the Secretary of the Board an original 
and 10 copies of a notice of intent to participate in accordance with 
the attached schedule. In order to facilitate service of pleadings on 
parties of record, the Board will issue a list of those persons who 
have given notice of their intent to participate. Nonparties may obtain 
copies of pleadings through the Board's copy contractor, DC News & 
Data, Inc., 1925 K Street N.W., Suite 210, Washington DC 20006. 
Telephone (202) 289-4357.
    Turning to the environmental review, the Board's Section of 
Environmental Analysis (SEA) shortly will issue a notice of intent to 
prepare a supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued 
in Tongue River II (herein, the Supplement) and in that document will 
seek comments regarding the environmental scope of, and potential 
environmental concerns and issues to be addressed in, this case. Under 
our rules implementing NEPA, and the rules of the Council on 
Environmental Quality, it appears that a Supplement is the appropriate 
means of reviewing TRRC's application for the Western Alignment. See 49 
CFR 1105.10(a)(5); 40 CFR 1502.9(c). It is premature to determine the 
scope of the Supplement at this time. Before doing so, SEA will review 
any comments on the notice of intent, verify the information in TRRC's 
environmental report, and consult with the appropriate Federal and 
state agencies to identify the key environmental issues to be addressed 
in the Supplement.
    Copies of the application, including the Environmental Report, are 
available for public inspection at the offices of either the Surface 
Transportation Board or the applicant, Tongue River Railroad Company, 
550 North 31st Street, Suite 250, P.O. Box 1181, Billings, MT 59102.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''
    This decision will not significantly affect either the quality of 
the human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

    Decided: June 15, 1998.

    By the Board, Chairman Morgan and Vice Chairman Owen.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.

Appendix--Procedural Schedule

June 23, 1998--Publication of notice adopting procedural schedule.
June 30, 1998--Due date for publication by TRRC of newspaper notices 
announcing this procedural schedule.
July 13, 1998--Due date for notices of intent to participate as a party 
of record.

[[Page 34214]]

September 16, 1998--Due date for comments in support of or opposition 
to the application.
November 2, 1998--Due date for replies to comments.

[FR Doc. 98-16530 Filed 6-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P