BNSF Railway Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Los Angeles County, CA, 43656-43657 [2012-18152]

Agencies

• Surface Transportation Board
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43656-43657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18152]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 6 (Sub-No. 483X)]


BNSF Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Los Angeles 
County, CA

    BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon its freight rail operating easement over a 5.3-mile line of 
railroad owned by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation 
Authority (LACMTA), between milepost 7.95 (just north of West 67th 
Street curbline) and milepost 13.25 (just south of the existing Metro 
Green Line structure), in the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, 
Cal. (the line). The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip 
Codes 90043, 90045, 90245, 90301, and 90305 and includes the stations 
of Hyde Park, Ortiz, Inglewood, and Williams.
    BNSF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for the past two years; (2) no overhead traffic has been handled 
on the line for at least two years; (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 two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 
CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 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 Oregon Short Line 
Railroad--

[[Page 43657]]

Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & 
Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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 August 24, 2012, 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 
August 6, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 \3\ must be filed by August 14, 2012, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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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 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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 OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \3\ BNSF states that the abandonment will facilitate LACMTA's 
desire to construct and operate the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor 
Project (Project), a light rail line that will begin at the Metro 
Green Line near the existing Aviation/LAX station and end on 
Crenshaw Boulevard at the Metro Exposition Light Rail Line. As a 
result, BNSF states that the line is not available for public 
purposes other than the Project.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
BNSF's representative: Karl Morell, Of Counsel, Ball Janik LLP, Suite 
225, 655 Fifteenth Street NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    BNSF has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by July 30, 2012. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 
20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the 
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339. 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), BNSF 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 BNSF's filing of a notice of 
consummation by July 25, 2013, 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 Web site at 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

    Decided: July 19, 2012.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-18152 Filed 7-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P