[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25995]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: October 20, 1994]
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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
[Docket No. AB-83 (Sub-No. 14X)]
Maine Central Railroad Company; Abandonment Exemption; Cumberland
and Oxford Counties, ME
[Docket No. 268 (Sub-No. 2X)]
Portland Terminal Company; Discontinuance of Service Exemption;
Cumberland and Oxford Counties, ME
Maine Central Railroad Company (MEC) and Portland Terminal Company
(PT) filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--
Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances to abandon and discontinue
service over a segment of their Mountain Division line of railroad
between milepost 5.76 and milepost 51.11, a distance of approximately
45.35 miles in Cumberland and Oxford Counties, ME.
MEC and PT certify that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) overhead traffic, if any, has been
rerouted over other lines; (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 Commission or with any U.S. District
Court or has been decided in favor of the complainant within the 2-year
period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental
reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 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 use of this exemption, any employee adversely
affected by the abandonment or discontinuance shall be protected under
Oregon Short Line R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 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. 10505(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 17, 1994, 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
1152.293 must be filed by October 28, 1994. Petitions to reopen or
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed
by November 7, 1994, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control
Branch, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.
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\1\A stay will be issued routinely by the Commission in those
proceedings where an informed decision on environmental issues
(whether raised by a party or by the Commission's Section of
Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be
made prior to the effective date of this notice of exemption. See
Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any
entity seeking a stay on environmental concerns is encouraged to
file its request as soon as possible in order to permit this
Commission to review and act on the request before the effective
date of this exemption.
\2\See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4
I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).
\3\The Commission will accept a late-filed trail use request as
long as it retains jurisdiction to do so.
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A copy of any petition filed with the Commission should be sent to
applicant's representative: John R. Nadolny, Iron Horse Park, No.
Billerica, MA 01862.
If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading
information, the exemption is void ab initio.
MEC and PT have filed an environmental report which addresses the
effect, if any, of the abandonment and the discontinuance on the
environmental and historic resources. The Section of Environmental
Analysis (SEA) will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by October
21, 1994. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to
SEA (Room 3219, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423)
or by calling Elaine Kaiser, Chief of SEA, at (202) 927-6248. 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.
Decided: October 12, 1994.
By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-25995 Filed 10-19-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P
