[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 5649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1876]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 30186 (Sub-No. 3)]


Tongue River Railroad Company, Inc.--Construction and Operation--
Western Alignment

ACTION: Notice of the re-opening of the Programmatic Agreement process 
to update and revise the existing Programmatic Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board's (Board's) Office of 
Environmental Analysis (OEA) (formerly the Section of Environmental 
Analysis or SEA) prepared a Programmatic Agreement (PA) as the final 
step in the Section 106 process under the National Historic 
Preservation Act for Tongue River Railroad Company's (TRRC) application 
to construct and operate a rail line in southeastern Montana. A final 
decision authorizing TRRC's construction and operation was issued in 
October, 2007.
    The PA was prepared in consultation with the Section 106 signatory 
and concurring parties and was executed in November, 2005. The PA 
expired on November 1, 2010, after an initial term of five years. An 
Amendment to the PA has been executed by all signatory parties 
extending the existing PA through September 1, 2011, to allow time to 
update and revise it.
    The revision would take into consideration the designation of the 
Wolf Mountain Battlefield as a National Historic Landmark on October 
26, 2008. Several Federally recognized Tribes have notified the Board 
of their interest in being included in the consultation process. The 
Tribes are concerned about impacts related to the rail line 
construction and operation on Wolf Mountain Battlefield. The alignment 
approved by the Board in its October 2007 decision runs through the 
eastern portion of that site.
    OEA has recently invited the United States Department of the 
Interior (National Historic Landmarks Program) and additional Tribes 
that may have an interest in the project area to participate in the PA 
consultation process. With this notice, we now invite any other 
interested parties to participate in the PA consultation process. The 
updated PA must be executed by September 1, 2011. OEA proposes the 
following timeline:

    February 1, 2011--Inform the public by Federal Register notice of 
the re-opening of the PA process and seek comment from the public (45-
day comment period). Transmit a Word version of the existing PA to 
current and newly designated consulting parties seeking comment, with 
suggested changes and edits to the existing PA to OEA within 45 days.
    March 18--End of public and consulting party comment period.
    March 18--April 15--OEA internal review of comments received and 
revision of the PA in consultation with consulting parties, as 
appropriate.
    May 2--OEA transmits revised PA, which addresses concerns, to 
consulting parties and members of the public that have shown an 
interest, for 30-day comment period.
    June 1-15--OEA internal review of comments received and revision of 
the PA in consultation with consulting parties, as appropriate.
    June 15--Final PA sent to consulting parties for a 15-day review 
period.
    July 1--Target date for execution of revised PA.
    Comments: OEA welcomes at this time any general comments you may 
have regarding the Board's Section 106 review process for this project, 
as well as specific comments you may have regarding the revision of the 
existing PA and OEA's proposed timeline. Comments may be filed 
electronically via the Board's Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov, by 
clicking on the ``E-FILING'' link. Comments may also be submitted by e-
mail to Kenneth Blodgett at [email protected] or by general 
delivery to:

Kenneth Blodgett, Surface Transportation Board, Office of Environmental 
Analysis, 395 E St., SW., Washington, DC 20423.

    Please submit all comments by March 18, 2011 and refer to Docket 
No. FD 30186 (Sub-No. 3) in all correspondence addressed to the Board.
    The existing PA and the Amendment to the PA can be viewed on the 
Board's Web site at ``Key Cases'' under ``Environmental Matters.'' 
Contact Kenneth Blodgett at 202-245-0305 with any questions.

    Decided: January 25, 2011.

    By the Board.
Victoria Rutson,
Director, Office of Environmental Analysis.
Andrea Pope-Matheson,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-1876 Filed 1-31-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P