Surface Transportation Board August 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On July 30, 2001, the Six County Association of Governments (SCAOG) filed a Petition for Exemption with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502 for authority to construct and operate a new rail line between Juab and Salina, Utah. The project involves approximately 43 miles of new rail line and ancillary facilities in Sanpete, Juab, and Sevier Counties that would connect the Union Pacific Railroad about 16 miles south of Nephi, near Juab, Utah, to a proposed coal transfer terminal facility about 0.5 mile southwest of Salina. The Proposed Action is known as the Central Utah Rail Project (CURP). Because the construction and operation of this project has the potential to result in significant environmental impacts, the Board's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) prepared, and issued, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on June 29, 2007. The comment period for the Draft EIS closed on August 22, 2007. Shortly before the end of the public comment period on the Draft EIS, however, SEA determined that additional information on alternatives and wetlands is warranted to ensure that those reviewing the document have all the information they need to comment effectively on the analysis contained in the Draft EIS. Therefore, SEA will prepare and issue Supplemental Information on Alternatives and Wetlands (Supplemental Information) to assist the public in its review of the proposed CURP project and extend the comment period on the Draft EIS. This notice is to inform individuals and agencies interested in or affected by the proposed CURP project that SEA will be issuing Supplemental Information in the near future. At that time, SEA will announce the availability of the Supplemental Information in the Federal Register and on the Board's Web site. SEA will also set the date for when comments on both the Supplemental Information and the Draft EIS are due. After the close of the extended comment period, SEA will prepare a Final EIS that considers comments received on both the Draft EIS and Supplemental Information. When considering whether to grant final approval of the proposed action, the Board will consider the DEIS, Supplemental Information, the Final EIS, and all environmental comments that are received.

The Board proposes to revise its method for calculating the railroad industry's cost of capital by computing the cost of equity using a capital asset pricing model.

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board is granting a petition for exemption from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10902 for Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, Inc., a Class II rail carrier, to lease and operate approximately 35.9 miles of a line of railroad owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway Company. The rail line extends from milepost BR 8.8 near Gravity, NY, to milepost BR 44.7+/-, immediately south of the northbound home signal and insulated joint for CP-Machias near Machias, NY. The exemption is subject to employee protective conditions.

By this decision and notice, the Board is commencing a proceeding under 49 U.S.C. 10502(b) and 49 CFR 1121.1 to consider the petition of Michigan Central Railway, LLC (MCR) to exempt its acquisition and operation of certain railroad lines of the Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) in Michigan and Indiana. To allow this proceeding to go forward, we are granting MCR's petition to revoke the application of the class exemption, which would otherwise apply to this transaction. Our revocation of the class exemption as to this transaction will allow us to consider the transaction in greater detail than it could be considered under our regulations for processing notices invoking the class exemption, and it will facilitate the participation of interested persons pursuant to the procedural schedule we are adopting.