[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34212-34214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16530]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Finance Docket No. 30186 (Sub-No. 3)]
Tongue River Railroad Company--Construction and Operation--in
Rosebud and Big Horn Counties, MT
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Construction and Operation Application and Adoption
of Initial Procedural Schedule.
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SUMMARY: The Board is publishing notice of an application filed by the
Tongue River Railroad Company (TRRC) seeking authority to construct and
operate 17.3 miles of track, called the Western Alignment, to be built
between Decker, MT, and a point 17.3 miles north of Decker, to connect
with the rail line previously approved for construction in Tongue River
Railroad Company--Rail Construction and Operation--Ashland to Decker,
Montana, Finance Docket No. 30186 (Sub-No. 2) (STB served Nov. 8, 1996)
(Tongue River II). The Western Alignment is proposed as an alternative
to a routing called the Four Mile Creek Alternative (herein, the Four
Mile Creek Route) approved in Tongue River II. The routing of the
Western Alignment separates from TRRC's approved Four Mile Creek
routing approximately 20.8 miles south of the point at which the line
connects with TRRC's approved line routing between Ashland and Miles
City, MT, and extends southwest to the Spring Creek/Decker area of
southeastern Montana, terminating near Decker where it will connect
with The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company's Kennecott
Spur.
The Board is issuing a procedural schedule establishing filing
dates for comments and replies on whether this application meets the
criteria of 49 U.S.C. 10901. The Board may subsequently issue another
notice setting forth a procedural schedule for the filing of any
additional pleadings after completion of the necessary environmental
analysis, if appropriate.
DATES: This notice is effective on June 23, 1998. Pleadings must be
filed in accordance with the schedule set forth
[[Page 34213]]
in the Appendix to this notice. All filings, except notices of intent
to participate, must be concurrently served on all parties of record
and must be accompanied by a certificate of service.
ADDRESSES: Send an original and 10 copies of all pleadings referring to
STB Finance Docket No. 30186 (Sub-No. 3) to: Surface Transportation
Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20423-0001. A copy of each comment shall concurrently be
served upon TRRC's representative: Betty Jo Christian, Esq., Steptoe &
Johnson LLP, 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, (202)
429-3000, FAX (202) 429-3902. One copy of each pleading must also be
served upon: Peter Young, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First St. N.E., Washington, DC 20426.1
\1\ Administrative Law Judge Young has been appointed to resolve
all disputes on discovery issues.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph H. Dettmar, (202) 565-1600.
[TDD for the hearing impaired: (202) 565-1695].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board's review of construction
applications is governed by 49 U.S.C. 10901 and by the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370d
(NEPA), and related environmental laws. Along with its application,
TRRC has submitted a renewed petition 2 to establish a
procedural schedule for this proceeding.3 The schedule
proposed by TRRC would establish due dates for submissions and Board
action, both in considering the transportation merits of the
application and in carrying out the environmental review process. The
Board is adopting only that portion of TRRC's procedural schedule that
sets due dates for filing comments (including supporting or opposing
evidence) on issues involving whether or not the application meets the
statutory criteria of 49 U.S.C. 10901, and for filing replies to those
comments. The Board will not, however, set a date for issuance of a
final decision on the merits of the application. Nor will we establish
a procedural schedule for our environmental review of the new
application. Rather, as discussed below, we will initiate the
environmental review process now, and establish a procedural schedule
for submission of any additional pleadings and issuance of a final
decision upon completion of that process.
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\2\ TRRC's initial request for establishment of a procedural
schedule was denied by decision served March 24, 1998.
\3\ Northern Cheyenne Tribe and Native Action, Inc., filed a
reply to TRRC's request for a procedural schedule. Great Northern
Properties Limited Partnership and Northern Plains Resource Council,
Inc., also filed a reply to TRRC's petition. These replies are
primarily directed to the environmental issues raised here and the
schedule contemplated for their resolution. Since we are adopting a
procedural schedule only for dealing with non-environmental issues,
these petitions need not be addressed here. The United
Transportation Union-General Committee of Adjustment and United
Transportation Union-Montana State Legislative Board also replied
jointly to TRRC's petition, raising concerns about technical
compliance with our notification rules and the fairness or openness
of our actions in this case. As discussed below, the procedural
schedule we are adopting here provides adequate notice as well as
ample opportunity for a full and thorough evaluation of all of the
issues involved here.
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We are not adopting TRRC's proposal that we set an environmental
procedural schedule because the Board's environmental analysis depends
on input from many sources, including Federal and state agencies, and
at this point it is impossible to predict how long the environmental
review process will take. Our experience has shown that the preparation
of a NEPA document in a proceeding such as this, where a number of
environmental issues may exist generally, does not lend itself to a
structured time limit. Because we would be unable to assure compliance
with TRRC's proposed schedule even if we adopted it, we see no point in
seeking public comment on it. Rather, we will adopt a schedule for
receiving comments and replies on whether the application meets the
statutory criteria in 49 U.S.C. 10901. The schedule we are adopting
here will accord all parties due process because it provides ample time
for the submission of comments and replies. In short, the schedule we
are adopting will allow for adequate public participation and the
development of a sufficient record to allow the Board to determine
whether the proposed construction meets the criteria of section 10901.
In this proceeding, we will not issue a decision determining
whether the proposed construction meets the statutory criteria in 49
U.S.C. 10901 prior to completion of the environmental review process.
TRRC has not requested this action. Our decision on the merits will
follow completion of the environmental review process and we will
address both transportation and environmental issues in that decision.
We are requiring TRRC to publish notices setting forth the schedule
we are adopting here, and to certify to us that it has done so. In
addition to setting forth the procedural schedule, the new notices must
state that anyone who intends to participate as a party of record by
filing comments must file with the Secretary of the Board an original
and 10 copies of a notice of intent to participate in accordance with
the attached schedule. In order to facilitate service of pleadings on
parties of record, the Board will issue a list of those persons who
have given notice of their intent to participate. Nonparties may obtain
copies of pleadings through the Board's copy contractor, DC News &
Data, Inc., 1925 K Street N.W., Suite 210, Washington DC 20006.
Telephone (202) 289-4357.
Turning to the environmental review, the Board's Section of
Environmental Analysis (SEA) shortly will issue a notice of intent to
prepare a supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued
in Tongue River II (herein, the Supplement) and in that document will
seek comments regarding the environmental scope of, and potential
environmental concerns and issues to be addressed in, this case. Under
our rules implementing NEPA, and the rules of the Council on
Environmental Quality, it appears that a Supplement is the appropriate
means of reviewing TRRC's application for the Western Alignment. See 49
CFR 1105.10(a)(5); 40 CFR 1502.9(c). It is premature to determine the
scope of the Supplement at this time. Before doing so, SEA will review
any comments on the notice of intent, verify the information in TRRC's
environmental report, and consult with the appropriate Federal and
state agencies to identify the key environmental issues to be addressed
in the Supplement.
Copies of the application, including the Environmental Report, are
available for public inspection at the offices of either the Surface
Transportation Board or the applicant, Tongue River Railroad Company,
550 North 31st Street, Suite 250, P.O. Box 1181, Billings, MT 59102.
Board decisions and notices are available on our website at
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''
This decision will not significantly affect either the quality of
the human environment or the conservation of energy resources.
Decided: June 15, 1998.
By the Board, Chairman Morgan and Vice Chairman Owen.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
Appendix--Procedural Schedule
June 23, 1998--Publication of notice adopting procedural schedule.
June 30, 1998--Due date for publication by TRRC of newspaper notices
announcing this procedural schedule.
July 13, 1998--Due date for notices of intent to participate as a party
of record.
[[Page 34214]]
September 16, 1998--Due date for comments in support of or opposition
to the application.
November 2, 1998--Due date for replies to comments.
[FR Doc. 98-16530 Filed 6-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P
