[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 208 (Monday, October 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50220-50221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23356]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 494X)]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Larimer County, 
CO.

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon 0.5 miles of rail line between milepost 74.5 and milepost 75.0, 
in Fort Collins, Larimer County, CO (the Line). The Line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Codes 80521 and 80524.
    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local freight traffic has moved 
over the Line since prior to 2009; (2) no overhead traffic has been 
handled on the Line since prior to 2009; (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 two-year period; and (4) the 
requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 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 
Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in 
Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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 November 29, 2017, 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 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by November 9, 2017. Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 20, 2017, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \1\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on 
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,800. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. 
Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.--2017 
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. C at 20 (STB served July 
28, 2017).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to Karl 
Morell, Karl Morell & Associates, 440 1st Street NW., Suite 440, 
Washington, DC 20001.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by November 3, 2017. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 
20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the 
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339. 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), BNSF shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the Line. If

[[Page 50221]]

consummation has not been effected by BNSF's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 30, 2018, 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 Web site at 
WWW.STB.GOV.

    Decided: October 23, 2017.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017-23356 Filed 10-27-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P