scoville_dh.doc

June 30, 2000

VIA FACSIMILE

Doug Scoville
Chairman
Idaho Barley Commission
1240 Scoville Road
Potlatch, ID 83855

RE: Draft Verified Statement in the Camas Prairie Abandonment Proceeding

Dear Chairman Scoville:

Let me begin by thanking you for your testimony at the Idaho Public Utilities Commission’s hearing on Monday evening June 19, 2000. The Commission appreciated your taking the time to come to the hearing and providing effective and to-the-point testimony. I was the state attorney that asked you to state and spell your name.

As you may have seen in the local press, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has denied the State’s request for an oral hearing in Idaho. Our appeal of that decision was likewise rejected. Consequently, the Public Utilities Commission, on behalf of the State of Idaho, is preparing to protest the abandonment before the STB.

The purpose of this letter is to solicit your assistance in preparing the State’s case before the STB. Given your specific testimony regarding the impact of abandonment on barley production in Idaho, the PUC would like to present your testimony to the STB. Attached is a draft “Verified Statement” that I have prepared using your testimony presented to the PUC. A verified statement is nothing more than an affidavit. At present, I anticipate that the Governor, the Director of Commerce, you, the Public Utilities Commission, and the Commission’s technical experts will all filed verified statements on behalf of the State. Likewise, the shippers are also submitting verified statements as part of the Save the Camas Prairie Railroad Committee.

Please make any changes you desire and fill in the one blank. You may then fax the “corrected” statement back to me at [phone]. If your fax machine prints out on regular 81/2 x 11 paper, you may simply sign the Verified Statement in front of a notary and then mail the signature page back to me. For purposes of the STB proceeding, I need an original signature page to attach to your statement. My address is Idaho PUC, PO Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0074. I must submit all the verified statements no later than Friday, July 7, 2000.

If you have any questions please contact me at [phone]. I anticipate working over the weekend, so you may contact me at my office. I appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely yours,

Donald L. Howell, II
Deputy Attorney General

Enclosures

bls/L:scoville_dh

Doug Scoville
June 30, 2000
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