Website: www.puc.state.id.us
Commission won’t file rail abandonment comments
Boise
– The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has determined that Union
Pacific Railroad’s proposal to abandon a 5.25-mile stretch of railroad track in
Kootenai County will not adversely affect Idaho shippers. The commission will
not file comments objecting to the abandonment with the Surface Transportation
Board, the federal agency that makes the final decision.
The
commission conducted a public hearing on July 27 in Coeur d’Alene where no one
testified against the proposal. While the commission does not make rail
abandonment decisions, its role is to determine if the abandonment 1) adversely
affects the area being served, 2) impairs the access of Idaho shippers to vital
goods and markets, and 3) whether the rail line has the potential for
profitability. If the commission had determined that the abandonment was not in
the public interest, it would have filed comments and represented the state
before the Surface Transportation Board (STB).
Union
Pacific is seeking an exemption from the STB that speeds up the process.
Exemptions are granted when the railroad can prove there has not been rail
traffic on the line for at least two years and there are no outstanding
complaints about lack of rail service. Union Pacific filed its Notice of
Exemption on Nov. 26. The STB will publish a notice in the Federal Register
within 20 days. After 30 days from the publication of the notice, the railroad
is permitted to abandon the rail line unless STB stays the abandonment.
The
line runs from east of Meyer Road to Ramsey Road, then south, crossing under
Interstate 90, then east along the Spokane River about one mile, terminating a
half mile west of U.S. Highway 95. The line was originally built in 1910 by the
Spokane International Railroad Company.
The
City of Coeur d’Alene and the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation will ask
the Surface Transportation Board to have this portion of the rail line,
“banked,” which preserves the right-of-way in the event rail service is
restored. The trail foundation will file a public use condition, requesting
interim use of that stretch of the rail line for trail use.
The
commission expressed its hope that Union Pacific will address concerns raised
by the state Department of Environmental Quality and noted that DEQ could file
environmental comments with the Surface Transportation Board as it deems
necessary.
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