[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26738-26739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12252]
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[[Page 26739]]
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
[Docket No. AB-439X]
Dallas Area Rapid Transit--Abandonment Exemption--in Dallas
County, TX
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), a political subdivision of the
State of Texas, has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152
Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a portion of its line of
railroad, known as the Garland Line, between milepost 762.26 and
milepost 763.0, in the City of Dallas, Dallas County, TX, a distance of
.74 miles.1
\1\ DART acquired this line of railroad from the Missouri
Pacific Railroad Company (MP) in 1990, with MP retaining trackage
rights. MP discontinued its trackage rights through a 1992
relocation of its operations, and later abandoned three miles of
trackage (as to which MP had retained ownership) south from the
current end of track at milepost 763.0 into Dallas. This right-of-
way south of the line is now used as a recreational trail.
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DART has certified that: (1) No loca1 traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic can be 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 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 June 17, 1995, 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 May 30, 1995. Petitions to reopen or
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed
by June 7, 1995, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch,
Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.
\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
Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be
made prior to 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 on environmental concerns is encouraged to
file its request as soon as possible in order to permit the
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
applicant's representative: Kevin M. Sheys, 1020 19th St., N.W., Suite
400, Washington, DC 20036.
If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading
information, the exemption is void ab initio.
DART has filed an environmental report which addresses the
abandonment's effects, if any, on the environmental and historic
resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an
environmental assessment (EA) by May 23, 1995. 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: May 11, 1995.
By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-12252 Filed 5-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P
