[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3595]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 16, 1994]
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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
[Docket No. AB-32 (Sub-No. 59X)]
Boston and Maine Corporation; Abandonment Exemption--Middlesex
County, MA
[Docket No. AB-355 (Sub-No. 11X)]
Springfield Terminal Railway Company--Discontinuance of Service
Exemption; Middlesex County, MA
Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) and Springfield Terminal Railway
Company (ST) 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 B&M's rail line known as the Lowell Secondary
Track, between milepost 24.27 and milepost 25.01, a distance of
approximately 0.74 miles, in Lowell, Middlesex County, MA. B&M seeks
authority to abandon the line, and ST, which leases the line from B&M,
seeks authority to discontinue service over the line.
B&M and ST 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),\1\ and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.
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\1\B&M and ST certify that they have met the newspaper
publication requirement of 49 CFR 1105.7(c). The substance of the
publication and certification required by that section for
environmental reports is the same as that set forth at 49 CFR
1105.12.
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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 March 18, 1994, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\2\ formal
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29\4\ must be filed
by February 28, 1994. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by March 8, 1994, with:
Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, Interstate Commerce
Commission, Washington, DC 20423.
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\2\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 Energy
and Environment in its independent investigation) cannot be made
before the effective date of the notice of exemption. See Exemption
of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any entity
seeking a stay involving 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.
\3\See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4
I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).
\4\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 pleading filed with the Commission should be sent to
applicants' representative: Kevin J. O'Connell, Esq., Law Department,
Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA 01862.
If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading
information, the exemption is void ab initio.
B&M and ST 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 February
18, 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 is 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: February 3, 1994.
By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Sidney L. Strickland, Jr.,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-3595 Filed 2-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P
