Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 145 / Monday, August 2, 2021 / Notices 41533 

1According to NWPCO, it holds common carrier 

authority to operate over the Line pursuant to a 

lease agreement with the North Coast Railroad 

Authority (NCRA). See Nw. Pac. R.R.—Change in 

Operators Exemption—N. Coast R.R. Auth., FD 

35073 (STB served Aug. 30, 2007). NCRA has filed 

a verified notice of exemption to abandon 175.84 

miles of rail line, including an approximately threemile segment of the Line between milepost 139.5 

and milepost 142.5. See NCRA, Notice of 

Exemption 1, N. Coast R.R.—Aban. Exemption—in 

Mendocino, Trinity & Humboldt Cntys., Cal., AB 

1305X. 

2NWPCO states that it has never offered service 

on the Line due to Emergency Order 21 issued by 

the Federal Railroad Administration prohibiting 

railroad operations since 1998. 

3NWPCO states that it previously discontinued 

operations over a connecting rail line segment 

between milepost NWP 89 and milepost SP 63.4. 

See Nw. Pac. R.R.—Discontinuance of Serv. 

Exemption—in Marin, Napa, & Sonoma Cntys., 

Cal., AB 1310X (STB served June 11, 2021). 

4Persons interested in submitting an OFA to 

subsidize continued rail service must first file a 

formal expression of intent to file an offer, 

indicating the intent to file an OFA for subsidy and 

demonstrating that they are preliminarily 

financially responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i). 

5The filing fee for OFAs can be found at 49 CFR 

1002.2(f)(25). 

6Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and 

not an abandonment, interim trail use/rail banking 

and public use conditions are not appropriate. 

Because there will be an environmental review 

during abandonment, this discontinuance does not 

require environmental review. 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. AB 1310 (Sub-No. 1X)] 

Northwestern Pacific Railroad 

Company—Discontinuance of Service 

Exemption—in Mendocino County, Cal. 

Northwestern Pacific Railroad 

Company (NWPCO) has filed a verified 

notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 

1152 subpart F—Exempt Abandonments 

and Discontinuances of Service to 

discontinue service over an 

approximately 53.5-mile rail line 

extending between approximately 

milepost NWP 142.5 near Outlet Station 

and approximately milepost NWP 89 

near the Sonoma-Mendocino County, 

Cal., border in Mendocino County, Cal. 

(the Line).1 The Line traverses U.S. 

Postal Service Zip Codes 95490, 95470, 

95482, 95449, and 95425. 

NWPCO has certified that: (1) It has 

handled no local traffic over the Line for 

at least two years; 2 (2) it has not 

handled overhead traffic on the Line 

and there is no potential overhead 

traffic that would need to be rerouted; 

(3) no formal complaint filed by a user 

of rail service on the Line (or 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 any U.S. District Court or has been 

decided in favor of a complainant 

within the two-year period; and (4) the 

requirements at 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication) and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

The verified notice states that the Line 

‘‘comprises the entirety of NWPCO’s 

remaining common carrier operating 

authority.’’ 3 Where, as here, the carrier 

is discontinuing service over its entire 

system, the Board does not normally 

impose labor protection under 49 U.S.C. 

10502(g), unless the evidence indicates 

the existence of: (1) a corporate affiliate 

that will continue substantially similar 

rail operations; or (2) a corporate parent 

that will realize substantial financial 

benefits over and above relief from the 

burden of deficit operations by its 

subsidiary railroad. See Honey Creek 

R.R.—Aban. Exemption—in Henry 

Cnty., Ind., AB 865X (STB served Aug. 

20, 2004); Northampton & Bath R.R.— 

Aban. near Northampton & Bath 

Junction in Northampton Cnty., Pa., 354 

I.C.C. 784 (1978); Wellsville, Addison & 

Galeton R.R.—Aban. of Entire Line in 

Potter & Tioga Cntys., Pa., 354 I.C.C. 744 

(1978). According to NWPCO, it does 

not have a corporate affiliate that has 

similar rail operations, and there is no 

corporate parent that will benefit from 

the proposed discontinuance. Therefore, 

employee protection conditions will not 

be imposed. 

Provided no formal expression of 

intent to file an offer of financial 

assistance (OFA) 4 to subsidize 

continued rail service has been 

received, this exemption will be 

effective on September 1, 2021, unless 

stayed pending reconsideration. 

Petitions to stay that do not involve 

environmental issues and formal 

expressions of intent to file an OFA to 

subsidize continued rail service under 

49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) 5 must be filed by 

August 12, 2021.6 Petitions for 

reconsideration must be filed by August 

23, 2021. 

All pleadings, referring to Docket No. 

AB 1310 (Sub-No. 1X) should be filed 

with the Surface Transportation Board 

via e-filing on the Board’s website. In 

addition, a copy of each pleading filed 

with the Board must be served on 

NWPCO’s representative, Justin J. 

Marks, Clark Hill PLC, 1001 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1300 

South, Washington, DC 20004. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available at www.stb.gov. 

Decided: July 27, 2021. 

By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Regena Smith-Bernard, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16372 Filed 7–30–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions 

on Proposed Highway in Washington 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of limitation on claims 

for judicial review of actions by FHWA. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces actions 

taken by the FHWA that are final. The 

actions relate to National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) approvals for a 

proposed highway project, the I–405, SR 

522 Vicinity to SR 527 Express Toll 

Lanes Improvement Project between 

Mileposts 21.79 and 27.06, located 

mostly in Bothell, Washington in the 

Counties of King and Snohomish, State 

of Washington. 

DATES: By this notice, the FHWA is 

advising the public of final agency 

actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). A 

claim seeking judicial review of the 

Federal agency actions on the highway 

project will be barred unless the claim 

is filed on or before December 30, 2021. 

If the Federal law that authorizes 

judicial review of a claim provides a 

time period of less than 150 days for 

filing such claim, then that shorter time 

period still applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

FHWA, Lindsey Handel, Area Engineer, 

Federal Highway Administration, 711 S 

Capitol Way, Suite 501, Olympia, WA 

98501–1284, 360–753–9480, 

lindsey.handel@dot.gov; or Robert 

Woeck, I–405/SR 167 Megaprogram 

Deputy Program Administrator, 

Washington State Department of 

Transportation, 600 108th Avenue NE, 

Suite 405, Bellevue, Washington 98004, 

425–456–8585, woeckro@wsdot.wa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that FHWA has taken final 

agency action(s) subject to 23 U.S.C. 

139(l)(1) by issuing National 

Environmental Policy Act approvals for 

the following highway project in the 

State of Washington: The I–405, SR 522 

Vicinity to SR 527 Express Toll Lanes 

Improvement Project (Project) proposes 

to make roadway, structural, trail, and 

transit infrastructure improvements to 

I–405 from milepost (MP) 21.79 to MP 

27.06, located mostly in Bothell, 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
41534 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 145 / Monday, August 2, 2021 / Notices 

1https://www.regulations.gov/document/FRA2020-0031-0001 (Test Program); https://

www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2020-0031- 

0002 (FRA’s approval decision); https://

www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2020-0031- 

0004 (FRA’s published notice of approval). 

2See https://www.regulations.gov/document/ 

FRA-2020-0031-0001. 

Washington. The Project proposes to 

create a dual express toll lane (ETL) 

system by restriping existing lanes from 

MP 21.79 to MP 22.30 and widening I– 

405 to add one ETL in each direction 

between MP 22.30 and MP 26.30. At the 

SR 522 interchange, the Project would 

construct direct access ramps to and 

from the ETL, inline transit stations in 

the I–405 median, and three new 

signalized intersections on SR 522, 

which would change where the freeway 

portion of SR 522 begins and ends. Just 

south of the SR 527 interchange at 17th 

Avenue SE, the Project would construct 

direct access ramps to and from the ETL 

and inline transit stations in the I–405 

median. The Project would reconstruct 

new bridges over the Sammamish River, 

build three new noise walls, construct 

bicycle and pedestrian facilities, 

reconfigure local streets, correct five fish 

barriers, and make stormwater 

improvements. 

The actions by the Federal agencies, 

and the laws under which such actions 

were taken, are described in the I–405, 

SR 522 Vicinity to SR 527 Express Toll 

Lanes Improvement Project 

Environmental Assessment (EA) issued 

on July 2, 2020, Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 

project published on July 29, 2021 and 

in other documents in the project 

records. The EA, FONSI, and other 

project records are available from 

FHWA and WSDOT at the addresses 

provided in the ‘‘For Further 

Information Contact’’ section of this 

notice and can be found at: http://

www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/i405/sr-522- 

sr-527/environmental-review/. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions that are final as of the 

issuance date of this notice and all laws 

under which such actions were taken, 

including but not limited to: 

1. General: National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4351); Federal-Aid Highway Act (23 

U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128). 

2. Air: Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401– 

7671q). 

3. Land: Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 (49 U.S.C. 303; 23 U.S.C. 138); 

Landscaping and Scenic Enhancement 

(Wildflowers) (23 U.S.C. 319). 

4. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1531–1544 and Section 

1536); Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1361–1423h); Fish and 

Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 

661–667d); Migratory Bird Treaty Act 

(16 U.S.C. 703–712). 

5. Historic and Cultural Resources: 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended 

(16 U.S.C. 470f); Archeological 

Resources Protection Act of 1977 (16 

U.S.C. 470aa–470mm); Archeological 

and Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

469–469c); Native American Grave 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA) (25 U.S.C. 3001–3013). 

6. Social and Economic: American 

Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 

1996); Farmland Protection Policy Act 

(FPPA) (7 U.S.C. 4201–4209). 

7. Wetlands and Water Resources: 

Clean Water Act (Section 404, Section 

401, Section 319) (33 U.S.C. 1251– 

1387); Land and Water Conservation 

Fund (LWCF) (16 U.S.C. 4601–4604); 

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (42 

U.S.C. 300f–300j–26)); Rivers and 

Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 401– 

406); Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 

U.S.C. 1271–1287); Emergency 

Wetlands Resources Act, (16 U.S.C. 

3901, 3921); Wetlands Mitigation (23 

U.S.C. 119(g) and 133(b)(14)); Flood 

Disaster Protection Act, 42 U.S.C. 4012a, 

4106). 

8. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 

Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 11988 

Floodplain Management; E.O. 12898, 

Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low-Income 

Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and 

Enhancement of Cultural Resources; 

E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 

13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments; E.O. 11514 

Protection and Enhancement of 

Environmental Quality; E.O. 13112 

Invasive Species. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). 

Issued on: July 26, 2021. 

Melinda Roberson, 

Acting Division Administrator, Federal 

Highway Administration, Olympia, 

Washington. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16320 Filed 7–30–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2020–0031] 

Petition for Approval Extension: Union 

Pacific Railroad 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of petition for an 

extension of approval of track 

inspection test program. 

SUMMARY: This document provides the 

public notice that on July 21, 2021, 

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) petitioned 

the Federal Railroad Administration 

(FRA) to extend an existing temporary 

suspension of some visual track 

inspections to allow for the 

continuation of a previously approved 

Test Program designed to test track 

inspection technologies (i.e., an 

autonomous track geometry 

measurement system) and new 

operational approaches to track 

inspections (i.e., combinations of 

autonomous inspection and traditional 

visual inspections). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: YuJiang Zhang, Staff Director, Track and 

Structures Division, at (202) 493–6460 

or yujiang.zhang@dot.gov; or Aaron 

Moore, Attorney, Office of the Chief 

Counsel, at (202) 493–7009 or 

aaron.moore@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

28, 2020, FRA conditionally approved 

the Test Program and UP’s petition 

under 49 CFR 211.51 to suspend 

§ 213.233(c) as applied to operations 

under the Test Program. Accordingly, a 

copy of the Test Program, FRA’s 

conditional approval of the Test 

Program, and a previously published 

Federal Register notice explaining 

FRA’s rationale for approving the Test 

Program and related suspension are 

available for review in the docket.1

As approved, the Test Program 

includes two separate phases over 12 

months, as outlined in Exhibit C of the 

Program.2 UP began the Test Program on 

June 15, 2020. Accordingly, the Test 

Program expired on June 15, 2021. UP 

is requesting to renew and extend the 

Test Program for one year, until June 15, 

2022, to complete the Program. 

A copy of the petition, as well as any 

written communications concerning the 

petition, if any, are available for review 

online at www.regulations.gov. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES