2011-3661. BNSF Railway Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Stearns County, MN

On January 31, 2011, BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) filed with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) a petition under 49 U.S.C. 10502 for exemption from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 10903 to abandon a 7.05-mile line of railroad located between milepost 9.16 at Rockville and milepost 16.21 at Cold Spring, in Stearns County, Minn.^[1] The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 56369 and 56320, and includes the station of Cold Spring.

The line does not contain Federally granted rights-of-way. Any documentation in BNSF's possession will be made available promptly to those requesting it.

The interest of railroad employees will be protected by the conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line Railroad—Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, In Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979).

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 May 20, 2011.^[2]

Any offer of financial assistance (OFA) under 49 CFR 1152.27(b)(2) will be due no later than 10 days after service of a decision granting the petition for exemption. Each OFA must be accompanied by a $1,500 filing fee. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

All interested persons should be aware that, following abandonment of rail service and salvage of the line, the line may be suitable for other public use, including interim trail use. Any request for a public use condition under 49 CFR 1152.28 or for trail use/rail banking under 49 CFR 1152.29 will be due no later than March 10, 2011. Each trail request must be accompanied by a $250 filing fee. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(27).

All filings in response to this notice must refer to Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 472X), and must be sent to: (1) Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001; and (2) Kristy D. Clark, General Attorney, BNSF Railway Company, 2500 Lou Menk Drive, AOB-3, Fort Worth, TX 76131-2828. Replies to the petition are due on or before March 10, 2011.

Persons seeking further information concerning abandonment procedures may contact the Board's Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs and Compliance at [phone] or refer to the full abandonment or discontinuance regulations at 49 CFR part 1152. Questions concerning environmental issues may be directed to the Board's Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) at [phone]. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.]

An environmental assessment (EA) (or environmental impact statement (EIS), if necessary) prepared by OEA will be served upon all parties of record and upon any agencies or other persons who commented during its preparation. Other interested persons may contact OEA to obtain a copy of the EA (or EIS). EAs in these abandonment proceedings normally will be made available within 60 days of the filing of the petition. The deadline for submission of comments on the EA generally will be within 30 days of its service.

Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

Decided: February 14, 2011.

By the Board.

Rachel D. Campbell,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Andrea Pope-Matheson,

Clearance Clerk.

Footnotes

1.  BNSF states that the cities of Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond have formed ROCORI Trail, a trail association, and they wish to railbank and purchase the line to develop a trail to connect with other trail networks in the area.

2.  In its Environmental Report filed with the Board on January 7, 2011, BNSF notes that the line is under lease to Northern Lines Railroad, which BNSF states will also be filing for discontinuance of service over the line.