[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 14622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05175]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 487X)]
BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Cook County, Ill.
BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to
abandon approximately 1.1 miles of rail line in Chicago, in Cook
County, Ill., as follows: (1) Approximately 0.50 miles of track
(Sangamon Street Line) from south of Western Avenue Yard at 16th Street
(Station 186+79), extending to the red board south of Cullerton Street
(Station 163+50); and (2) approximately 0.60 miles of track (Lumber
Street Line) from West Cermak Road at the Colonial Brick switch
(Station 157+65), extending to the end of the line on Lumber Street
(Station 197+81). The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip
Codes 60608 and 60616.
BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least two years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on 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 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 April 5, 2013, 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
March 18, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by March 26, 2013, with
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC
20423-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
BNSF's representative: Karl Morell, BALL JANIK LLP, Suite 225, 655
Fifteenth Street NW., Washington, DC 20005.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
BNSF has filed environmental and historic reports that address the
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic
resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by March 11,
2013. 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
consummation has not been effected by BNSF's filing of a notice of
consummation by March 6, 2014, 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.dot.gov.''
Decided: March 1, 2013.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-05175 Filed 3-5-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P