81 FR 29316 - BNSF Railway Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Thurston County, Wash.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 91 (May 11, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29316-29317]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11132]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 492X)]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Thurston County, 
Wash.

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon 1.43 miles of rail line between milepost 14.57 and milepost 
16.0 in Belmore, Thurston County, Wash. (the Line).\1\ The Line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 98512.
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    \1\ The Line is a portion of a 10.2-mile line of railroad 
currently being leased to the City of Tacoma, Department of Public 
Utilities, Beltline Division, d/b/a Tacoma Rail or Tacoma Municipal 
Beltline or TMBL (TMBL). See City of Tacoma, Dep't of Pub. Utils., 
Beltline Div. d/b/a Tacoma Rail or Tacoma Mun. Beltline or TMBL--
Acquisition & Operation Exemption--Lakeview Subdivision, Quadlok-St. 
Clair & Belmore--Olympia Rail Lines in Pierce & Thurston Ctys., 
Wash., FD 34555 (STB served Oct. 19, 2004). In the verified notice, 
BNSF states that TMBL will be filing for discontinuance of the Line.
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    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
Line since prior to 2005; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
Line since prior to 2005; (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 a 
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 June 10, 2016, unless stayed pending reconsideration.\2\ 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by May 20, 2016. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by May 31, 2016, with the 
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
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    \2\ Although the exemption is scheduled to become effective on 
June 10, 2016, the transaction cannot be consummated by BNSF until 
TMBL obtains discontinuance authority.
    \3\ 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.
    \4\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicant's representative: Karl Morell, Karl Morell & Associates, 655 
Fifteenth St. NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
    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 May 16, 2016. 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 (FIRS) 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

[[Page 29317]]

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 filing of a notice of 
consummation by May 11, 2017, 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: May 6, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-11132 Filed 5-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P