[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 80 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24465-24466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09760]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. FD 35731]
Ballard Terminal Railroad Company, L.L.C.--Acquisition and
Operation Exemption--Woodinville Subdivision
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of exemption; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: On April 2, 2013, Ballard Terminal Railroad Company, L.L.C.
(Ballard), a Class III rail carrier, filed a petition under 49 U.S.C.
10502 for exemption from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 10902 to acquire
the residual common carrier rights and obligations, including the right
to reinstitute rail service, and the physical trackage assets on a line
of railroad currently owned by the City of Kirkland (City) and the Port
of Seattle (Port) in King County, Wash. (the Line), and currently
subject to railbanking/interim trail use under the National Trails
System Act, 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). Ballard also seeks the right to provide
common carrier rail service over the Line, and requests that the Board
order the transfer of all the rail materials to Ballard at their net
liquidation value. Ballard states that it has no objection to shared
use of the right-of-way as both a rail line and a trail. The Line
consists of a portion of the former BNSF Railway Company (BNSF)
Woodinville Subdivision extending between milepost 23.8 at Woodinville,
Wash., and milepost 12.6 at Bellevue, Wash.\1\ The petition for
[[Page 24466]]
exemption was filed concurrently with a Ballard petition to partially
vacate the NITU issued in Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 465X) for the
Woodinville Subdivision (extending from milepost 23.8 to milepost
11.25). That NITU permitted railbanking/interim trail use negotiations
under 16 U.S.C. 1247(d).\2\ The Board seeks comments from interested
persons on Ballard's request to resume rail service and partially
vacate the NITU.
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\1\ This segment was the subject of an abandonment proceeding
and NITU in BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in King
County, Wash., AB 6 (Sub-No. 465X).
\2\ In a related matter, Ballard simultaneously filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to lease from Eastside
Community Rail, LLC and to operate a 14.45-mile line of railroad
between mileposts 23.8 and 38.25 that is adjacent to the Line at
issue here. Ballard Terminal Railroad Company, L.L.C.--Lease
Exemption--Line of Eastside Community Rail, LLC, FD 35730 (STB
served Apr. 18, 2013).
DATES: Written comments must be filed with the Board by June 18, 2013.
Replies must be filed by July 18, 2013.\3\
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\3\ On April 12, 2013, King County, the City, and Central Puget
Sound Regional Transit Authority (collectively, Movants) jointly
filed a motion to extend the time to respond to Ballard's petitions
to partially vacate the NITU and for exemption, from April 22, 2013,
to June 21, 2013. On April 17, 2013, Ballard filed a reply to the
motion, objecting to the requested extension of time unless it is
coupled with a condition that the City not remove the track and
other rail assets on the 5.75-mile portion of the Line the City
owns, until such time as the Board rules on Ballard's pending
petitions. On April 18, 2013, Movants filed a motion for leave to
file a reply to Ballard's reply. Regarding the motion to extend,
pursuant to this notice and request for comments, the Board is
initiating a proceeding and establishing a procedural schedule for
comments. Movants' motion to extend the time to respond will
therefore be denied as moot. The matter of the trackage removal is
already pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District
of Washington on Ballard's motion for temporary restraining order,
which is scheduled to be heard on May 3, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted either via the Board's e-filing
format or in the traditional paper format. Any person using e-filing
should attach a document and otherwise comply with the instructions at
the E-FILING link on the Board's Web site, at http://www.stb.dot.gov.
Any person submitting a filing in the traditional paper format should
send an original and 10 copies to: Surface Transportation Board, Attn:
Docket No. FD 35731, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
In addition, send one copy of any comments to: (1) Myles L. Tobin,
Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL
60606-2832; (2) Craig Watson, Port of Seattle, Pier 69, P.O. Box 1209,
Seattle, WA 98111; (3) Charles A. Spitulnik, Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell
LLP, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20036; and (4) all
other parties of record to this proceeding.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc Lerner at 202-245-0390.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 2, 2013, Ballard filed a petition
under 49 U.S.C. 10502 for exemption from the provisions of 49 U.S.C.
10902 to acquire the residual common carrier rights and obligations,
including the right to reinstitute rail service, and the physical
trackage assets of the Line, for a segment of the former BNSF
Woodinville Subdivision. This segment is currently subject to an
interim trail use/railbanking agreement between BNSF and King County, a
political subdivision of the State of Washington. The Port owns the
real estate associated with the Line, which it acquired from BNSF; \4\
the Port subsequently conveyed a portion of the Line to the City. In
King County, Wash.--Acquisition Exemption--BNSF Railway Company, FD
35148 (STB served Sept. 18, 2009), the Board granted a request by King
County for exemption from 49 U.S.C. 10901 to acquire BNSF's rights and
obligations, including the right to reinstate rail service in the
future.
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\4\ The Port of Seattle--Acquisition Exemption--Certain Assets
of BNSF Ry., FD 35128 (STB served June 20, 2008).
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Ballard's petition presents this issue: under what circumstances
will the Board grant a carrier's request to vacate a NITU to permit
reactivation of rail service when the petitioning carrier does not own
or have any other interest in the right-of-way. An interim trail use
arrangement is subject to being cut off at any time by the
reinstitution of service. 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). Here, the abandoning
railroad (BNSF) has transferred its rights and obligations, including
the right to reinstate rail service, to King County (which is also the
trail sponsor), and a different carrier, Ballard, seeks to reinstitute
service.
Ballard submits letters from two shippers that support the
reinstitution of rail service over the Line. CalPortland, a building
materials and construction services provider, states that it desires to
use the Line to receive hundreds of thousands of cubic yards per year
of construction materials for upcoming road projects. Wolford Trucking
& Demolition, Inc. (Wolford), a demolition and trucking services
provider, states that it plans to use the Line to ship an estimated
three million cubic yards of excavated materials, building demolition
waste, and roadway grading spoils over the next several years. Ballard
estimates that CalPortland and Wolford's use of the Line would
translate to approximately 50,000 carloads of freight.\5\
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\5\ Ballard submits three additional letters generally in
support of an upgraded Eastside Rail Corridor: an open letter from
the Snohomish County Executive Director supporting multiple purpose
use of the Eastside Rail Corridor, including freight service; a
letter to the Kirkland City Council from the Mayor of Woodinville
requesting that the City delay the removal of the subject tracks
until the Eastside Rail Corridor Regional Advisory Council presents
its recommendations in Summer 2013; and a letter to Washington State
Senator Rosemary McAuliffe from the Mayor of Snohomish reiterating a
request for funding needed to upgrade the Eastside Rail Corridor.
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By issuance of this notice, the Board is instituting an exemption
proceeding pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502(b). A final decision will be
issued by January 17, 2014.
Decided: April 19, 2013.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-09760 Filed 4-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P