Boston and Maine CorporationAbandonment Exemptionin Carroll County, NH

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-32 (Sub-No. 65X)]

Boston and Maine Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Carroll

County, NH

Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) has filed a notice of exemption

under 49 CFR part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and

Discontinuances to abandon an approximately 10.80-mile line of railroad

on the Conway Branch between milepost B-111.0 and milepost B-121.80 in

Ossipee, Carroll County, NH. The line traverses United States Postal

Service Zip Codes 03814, 03864 and 03468.

B&M has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the

line for at least 2 years; (2) overhead traffic 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 Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S.

District Court or has been decided in favor of 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 this exemption, any employee adversely affected

by the abandonment shall be protected under

[[Page 64043]]

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. 10502(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 January 2, 1998, 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 1152.29 must be filed by December 15, 1997. Petitions to reopen or

requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed

by December 23, 1997, with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC

20423.

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\1\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on

environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's

Section of Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation)

cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. See Exemption

of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C. 2d 377 (1989). Any request

for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may

take appropriate action before the exemption's effective date.

\2\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by

the filing fee, which is currently set at $900. See 49 CFR

1002.2(f)(25).

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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to

applicant's representative: John R. Nadolny, Esq., Boston and Maine

Corporation, Law Department, Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA

01862.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

B&M has filed an environmental report which addresses the

abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic

resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an

environmental assessment (EA) by December 8, 1997. Interested persons

may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface

Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA, at (202)

565-1545. 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.

Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), B&M shall file

a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has

exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If

consummation has not been effected by B&M's filing of a notice of

consummation by December 3, 1998, and there are no legal or regulatory

barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically

expire.

Decided: November 25, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-31768 Filed 12-2-97; 8:45 am]

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