[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35493-35494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12504]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1295X]
City of Yelm--Abandonment Exemption--in Thurston and Pierce
Counties, Wash.
The City of Yelm (the City) has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon an approximately 4.57-mile railroad line that runs between
milepost 20.99, near Roy, Wash., and milepost 25.56, in Yelm, Wash.
(the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 98597 and
98580.\1\
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\1\ Although the City initially submitted its verified notice on
May 5, 2020, it subsequently submitted several supplements, the last
of which was submitted on May 21, 2020. As such, that date will be
considered the filing date and the basis for all dates in this
notice.
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The City has certified that: (1) No freight traffic has moved over
the Line for two years; (2) any overhead freight traffic on the Line
can be rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by a
user of rail service on the Line (or 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 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
and 1105.8 (notice of environmental and historic report), 49 CFR
1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to
government agencies) have been met.
Any railroad employees who may be adversely affected by the
proposed abandonment will 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,\2\ the exemption will be
effective on July 10, 2020, unless stayed pending reconsideration.\3\
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues must be
filed by June 19, 2020,\4\ and formal expressions of intent to file an
OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) and interim trail use/rail banking
requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by June 22, 2020.\5\
Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions must be filed
by June 30, 2020, with the
[[Page 35494]]
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
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\2\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA must first file a
formal expression of intent to file an offer, indicating the type of
financial assistance they wish to provide (i.e., subsidy or
purchase) and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially
responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
\3\ The City states in its verified notice that the proposed
consummation date of this transaction is May 1, 2020, but this
transaction cannot be consummated until July 10, 2020 (50 days from
the May 21, 2020 filing date). See 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(2).
\4\ 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.
\5\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to the
City's representative, Brent Dille, Dille Law, PLLC, 2010 Caton Way SW,
Suite 101, Olympia, WA 98502.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
The City has filed a combined environmental and historic report
that addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) by June 15, 2020. The Draft EA will be
available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing to
OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the hearing
impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339. Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must
be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes available to the
public.
Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or interim 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), the City 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 the City's filing of a notice of
consummation by June 10, 2021, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.
Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: June 4, 2020.
By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020-12504 Filed 6-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P