Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21193

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Edward Kosola, Realty Officer, Federal

Highway Administration, Federal

Building, Room 220, 100 Centennial

Mall North, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508,

Telephone: (402) 437–5521. Mr. Arthur

Yonkey, Project Development Engineer,

Nebraska Department of Roads, P.O. Box

94759, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509,

Telephone: (402) 479–4795. Ms. Renate

A. Wilkinson, Transportation Planning

Manager, Missouri Department of

Transportation, Northwest District, 3602

North Belt Highway, P.O. Box 287, St.

Joseph, Missouri 64502, Telephone:

(816) 387–2434.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FHWA, in cooperation with the

Nebraska Department of Roads, and the

Missouri Department of Transportation,

will prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) for a proposal to

construct a bridge over the Missouri

River. The proposed project would

connect Holt County, Missouri and

Richardson County, Nebraska, in the

vicinity of Rulo, Nebraska.

Alternatives under consideration

include: (1) taking no action; (2)

replacing the US–159 Bridge on the

existing alignment; and (3) providing a

new crossing downstream from the

existing alignment.

The Rulo Bridge (Highway US–159

Bridge) has been listed on the National

Register of Historic Places. The existing

bridge is composed of 10 steel, riveted,

Warren deck truss approaches (5 on

each end of the bridge), and 3 steel, 8-

panel, riveted Pennsylvania through

trusses.

An agency scoping meeting is

planned for May 1, 2001 and a public

scoping/information meeting is

planned. A Draft EIS will be prepared

and a public hearing will be held.

Public notice will be given of the public

scoping/information meeting and public

hearing.

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to this proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS should be

directed to the FHWA or the Nebraska

Department of Roads at the address

provided.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Project 20.205, Highway Planning and

Construction. The regulations implementing

Executive Order 12372 regarding

intergovernmental consultation of Federal

programs and activities apply to this

program.)

Issued on April 20, 2001.

Edward Kosola,

Realty Officer, Nebraska Division, Federal

Highway Administration, Lincoln, Nebraska.

[FR Doc. 01–10468 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: King

County, Washington

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice Of Intent.

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this

notice of intent to advise the public that

an Environmental Impact Statement will

be prepared for a proposed highway

project in King County, Washington

northeast of the city of North Bend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Victoria Peters, Design Operations

Engineer, Federal Highway

Administration, 610 East Fifth Street,

Vancouver, Washington 98661,

telephone (360) 696–7700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FHWA, in partnership with the U.S.

Forest Service, Washington Department

of Transportation and King County,

Washington, will prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS)

on a proposal to improve Washington

Forest Highway 29 locally known as the

Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road or

Lake Dorothy Road. Forest Highway 29

begins at Interstate 90 (M.P. 34) and

terminates at the Middle Fork—Taylor

River Trailhead. The entire Forest

Highway route is 12.1 miles. The

proposed project will improve the

uppermost 10.74 miles.

The Middle Fork Snoqualmie River

Road is the gateway to 109,000 acres of

National Forest land and a primary

access point for the Alpine Lake

Wilderness. The road is located in the

eastern half of King County, less than an

hour drive from the population in the

Seattle area. There is high recreational

usage along this route which must

accommodate a diverse mix of users

including bicyclists, pedestrians, cars,

recreational vehicles, timber haulers

and trucks.

The existing road is paved for the first

1.3 miles with the remaining portion

being gravel. Roadway widths vary from

15 to 28 feet and are not safe to

accommodate the mix and volume of

traffic. In addition to narrowness, the

road surface ruts and potholes badly

during winter months causing unsafe

and erratic driving conditions. The

present road surface is nearly

unbladable for maintenance because of

the absence of cushion and graded

aggregate. The road also is deficient in

drainage causing silt laden runoff to

empty directly into surface waters. The

overall purpose of the proposed project

is to improve the physical conditions

and safety features of the Middle Fork

Snoqualmie River Road for the existing

and projected traffic demand, while

minimizing adverse impacts to sensitive

environmental resources.

Project objectives will be based on the

needs developed during the scoping

process. All improvements must be

consistent with the applicable

guidelines from the Mt. BakerSnoqualmie Forest Plan, the Middle

Fork Snoqualmie Access/Travel Plan,

King County plans and ordinances,

Washington state regulations and

federal regulations.

Alternatives under consideration

include (1) taking no action; (2)

improving the existing two lane road to

meet the appropriate Washington state

design criteria; (3) improving the

existing two lane road to meet the

appropriate American Association of

State Highway and Transportation

Officials (AASHTO) design criteria; (4)

other alternatives that maybe developed

during the NEPA process.

Notices describing the proposed

action and soliciting comments will be

sent to appropriate Federal, State, and

local agencies, and to private

organizations and citizens who have

previously expressed interest in this

proposal. Based in part on data

collected and comments received,

FHWA has determined that it will

prepare an EIS on the proposed project.

Comments previously received will be

utilized during the EIS process.

Additional interagency and public

scoping activities will be conducted.

The time and place of the public

scoping activities will be provided in

the local news media and by notice to

individuals and agencies that have

expressed interest in the proposal. The

draft EIS will be available for public and

agency review and comment. Schedules

for these activities will be distributed

when available this summer.

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to this proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Previous comments received by FHWA

have identified a number of issues such

as impacts to private landowners, water

quality, wetlands and wildlife, as well

as slope stability, tree removal and

parking along the roadway. Comments

or questions concerning this proposed

21194 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / 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 (SEA) 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 $1000. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

action and the EIS should be directed to

the FHWA at the address provided

above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Number 20.205, Highway Research,

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. 315; 49 CFR 1.48.

Ronald W. Carmichael,

Division Engineer, Federal Highway

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–10539 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Ex Parte No. 519 (Sub–No. 2)]

Notice of National Grain Car Council

Matters

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice of renewal and

reestablishment of National Grain Car

Council and notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

renewal and reestablishment of the

National Grain Car Council (NGCC).

Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public

Law No. 92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C.,

App. 2), notice also is hereby given of

a meeting of the NGCC.

DATES: The meeting will be held on May

4, 2001, beginning at 10 a.m., EDT.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

The Brick Room (First Floor) at 1925 K

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric

S. Davis, (202) 565–1510. (TDD for the

hearing impaired: 1–800–877–8339.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NGCC

arose from a proceeding instituted by

the Surface Transportation Board’s

(Board) predecessor agency, the

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC),

in National Grain Car Supply—

Conference of Interested Parties, Ex

Parte No. 519. The NGCC was formed as

a working group to facilitate privatesector solutions and recommendations

to the ICC (and now the Board) on

matters affecting grain transportation.

The purpose of this meeting is to

continue discussions of private-sector

solutions to problems related to the

availability of railroad cars for

distribution and transportation of grain.

In particular, rail carrier members will

report on their preparedness to transport

the Fall grain harvest.

The meeting, which is open to the

public, will be conducted pursuant to

the NGCC’s charter and Board

procedures. Further communications

about this meeting may be announced

through the Board’s website at http://

www.stb.dot.gov.

This action will not significantly

affect either the quality of the human

environment or the conservation of

energy resources.

Decided: April 24, 2001.

By the Board, Linda J. Morgan, Chairman.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–10613 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB–55 (Sub-No. 587X)]

CSX Transportation, Inc.—

Abandonment Exemption—in Clark

County, IN

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) has

filed a notice of exemption under 49

CFR 1152 subpart F—Exempt

Abandonments to abandon a .20-mile

line of railroad between milepost B–

40.60 and milepost B–40.80 at

Charlestown, in Clark County, IN. The

line traverses United States Postal

Service Zip Code 47111.

CSXT has certified that: (1) No local

traffic has moved over the line for at

least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead

traffic moving over the line; (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 and discontinuance 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 May 29, 2001, 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 May 7, 2001. Petitions to reopen

or requests for public use conditions

under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by

May 17, 2001, 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’s

representative: Natalie S. Rosenberg,

Counsel, CSX Transportation, Inc., 500

Water Street J150, Jacksonville, FL

32202.

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.

CSXT has filed an environmental

report which addresses the

abandonment’s effects, if any, on the

environmental and historic resources.

SEA will issue an environmental

assessment (EA) by May 4, 2001.

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), CSXT shall file a notice of

consummation with the Board to signify

that it has exercised the authority

granted and fully abandoned its line. If

consummation has not been effected by

CSXT’s filing of a notice of

consummation by April 27, 2002, and

there are no legal or regulatory barriers

to consummation, the authority to

abandon will automatically expire.