Federal Register: July 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 143)
DOCID: FR Doc 04-17055
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
STB ID: [STB Ex Parte No. 647]
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Meetings:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of public hearing.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Class Exemption for Expedited Abandonment Procedure for Class II and Class III Railroads
DATES: The public hearing will take place on Wednesday, August 11, 2004. Any person wishing to speak at the hearing should file with the Board a written notice of intent to participate, and should indicate a requested time allotment, as soon as possible but no later than July 26, 2004. Each speaker should also file with the Board any written testimony by August 3, 2004.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public
hearing on Wednesday, August 11, 2004, at its offices in Washington,
DC, to provide interested persons an opportunity to express their views
on the subject of the Board's abandonment regulations for Class II and
Class III rail carriers.\1\ Persons wishing to speak at the hearing should notify the Board in writing.
\1\ The Board's regulations divide railroads into three classes
based on annual carrier operating revenues. Class I railroads are
those with annual carrier operating revenues of $250 million or more
(in 1991 dollars); Class II railroads are those with annual carrier
operating revenues of more than $20 million but less than $250
million (in 1991 dollars); and Class III railroads are those with
annual carrier operating revenues of $20 million or less (in 1991
dollars). See 49 CFR Part 1201, General Instruction 11(a).
SUMMARY:
Class II and Class III railroads; expedited abandonment procedures; class exemption; hearing,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
On May 15, 2003, sixty-five short-line and
regional carriers (petitioners) \2\ filed a petition to institute a
proceeding under 49 U.S.C. 10502 to exempt a class of small carriers
from the prior approval abandonment requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10903.
Petitioners included a detailed proposal including revised rules for 49
CFR 1152.50 (exempt abandonments) and 1152.27 (offers of financial
assistance). The Board will hold a public hearing to provide a forum
for the expression of views by rail shippers, railroads, and other
interested persons, on this and other proposed changes to the Board's
abandonment regulations as they relate to Class II and Class III rail
carriers. This hearing will provide a forum for the oral discussion of
the proposed class exemption and any proposals that interested persons might wish to offer to amend the abandonment regulations.
\2\ The sixtyfive carriers are: Allegheny & Eastern Railroad,
Inc.; Bradford Industrial Rail, Inc.; Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad,
Inc.; Carolina Coastal Railway, Inc.; Commonwealth Railway, Inc.;
Chicago SouthShore & South Bend Railroad; Chattahoochee & Gulf
Railroad Co., Inc.; Connecuh Valley Railroad Co., Inc.; Corpus
Christi Terminal Railroad, Inc.; The Dansville & Mount Morris
Railroad Company; Eastern Idaho Railroad, Inc.; Genesee & Wyoming
Railroad Company; Golden Isles Terminal Railroad, Inc.; H&S Railroad
Co., Inc.; Illinois Indiana Development Company, LLC; Illinois &
Midland Railroad Company, Inc.; Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, Inc.;
Knoxville & Holston River Railroad Co., Inc.; Lancaster and Chester
Railway Company; Laurinburg & Southern Railroad Co., Inc.; Louisiana
& Delta Railroad, Inc.; Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company;
Minnesota Prairie Line, Inc.; Montana Rail Link, Inc.; New York &
Atlantic Railway Company; Pacific Harbor Line, Inc.; Palouse River &
Coulee City Railroad, Inc.; Pennsylvania Southwestern Railroad,
Inc.; Piedmont & Atlantic Railroad Inc.; Pittsburgh & Shawmut
Railroad, Inc.; Portland & Western Railroad, Inc.; Rochester &
Southern Railroad, Inc.; Rocky Mount & Western Railroad Co., Inc.;
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Company; Salt Lake City Southern
Railroad Company; Savannah Port Terminal Railroad, Inc.; South
Buffalo Railway Company; South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Company;
Stillwater Central Railroad; Talleyrand Terminal Railroad, Inc.;
Three Notch Railroad Co., Inc.; Timber Rock Railroad, Inc.; Twin
Cities & Western Railroad Company; Utah Railway Company; Willamette
& Pacific Railroad, Inc.; Wiregrass Central Railroad Company, Inc.;
York Railway Company; AN Railway, LLC; Atlantic and Western Railway,
Limited Partnership; Bay Line Railroad, LLC; Central Midland
Railway; Copper Basin Railway, Inc.; East Tennessee Railway, L.P.;
Galveston Railroad, L.P.; Georgia Central Railway, L.P.; The Indiana
Rail Road Company; KWT Railway, Inc.; Little Rock & Western Railway,
L.P.; M & B Railroad, L.L.C.; Tomahawk Railway, Limited Partnership;
Valdosta Railway, L.P.; Western Kentucky Railway, LLC; Wheeling &
Lake Erie Railway Company; Wilmington Terminal Railroad, L.P.; and Yolo Shortline Railroad Company.
Date Of Hearing. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 11, 2004, in the 7th floor hearing room at the Board's headquarters in Washington, DC, and will continue, with short breaks if necessary, until every person scheduled to speak has been heard. [[Page 44728]]
Notice Of Intent To Participate. Any person wishing to speak at the hearing should file with the Board a written notice of intent to participate, and should indicate a requested time allotment, as soon as possible but no later than July 26, 2004.
Testimony. Each speaker should file with the Board any written testimony by August 3, 2004.
Board Releases And Live Audio Available Via The Internet. Decisions
and notices of the Board, including this notice and the proposed class
exemption, are available on the Board's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov. This hearing will be available on the Board's Web site
by live audio streaming. To access the hearing, click on the ``Live
Audio'' link under ``Information Center'' at the left side of the home page beginning at 10 a.m. on August 11, 2004.
This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the human environment or the conservation of energy resources.
Dated: July 21, 2004.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 0417055 Filed 72604; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 491501P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Joseph Dettmar, (202) 565-1609. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 18008778339.]