Union Pacific Railroad CompanyAbandonment and Discontinuance of Trackage Rights Exemptionin Ada County, ID

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 137X)]

Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment and Discontinuance of

Trackage Rights Exemption--in Ada County, ID

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a notice of exemption

under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of

Service and Trackage Rights to abandon an 18.2-mile line of railroad on

the Boise Subdivision, ``Boise Cutoff'' from milepost 424.80 near

Orchard to milepost 443.0 near Hillcrest, in Ada County, ID. The line

traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 83707.

UP has certified that: (1) No local 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 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 and 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. 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 Augusut 7, 1999, 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 July 19, 1999. Petitions to reopen or

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

by July 28, 1999, with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the

Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, NW, 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 currently is set at $1000. 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: Joseph D. Anthofer, General Attorney, Union

Pacific Railroad Company, 1416 Dodge Street, Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

UP has filed an environmental report which addresses the effects,

if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on the environment and

historic resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will

issue an environmental assessment (EA) by July 13, 1999. 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

[[Page 36969]]

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), UP shall file a

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

the authority granted and fully abandoned its line. If consummation has

not been effected by UP's filing of a notice of consummation by July 8,

2000, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation,

the authority to abandon will automatically expire.

Board decisions and notices are available on our website at

``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

Decided: July 1, 1999.

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

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-17389 Filed 7-7-99; 8:45 am]

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