20090622_2613.pdf

DECISION MEMORANDUM 1
DECISION MEMORANDUM

TO: COMMISSIONER KEMPTON
COMMISSIONER SMITH
COMMISSIONER REDFORD
COMMISSION SECRETARY
COMMISSION STAFF
LEGAL

FROM: NEIL PRICE
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL

DATE: JUNE 18, 2009

SUBJECT: PROPOSED ABANDONMENT OF A THREE-MILE SECTION OF
PALOUSE & COULEE CITY RAILROAD’S RAIL LINE, CASE NO. PRC-
R-09-01

On May 22, 2009, the Commission received correspondence from the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) regarding Palouse & Coulee City Railroad’s
(PCCR) proposal to abandon a three-mile section of its rail line in Moscow, Idaho, adjacent to
Paradise Creek. PCCR requested assistance from IDEQ in “identifying possible water quality
issues” pertaining to the proposed abandonment. In its letter to the Commission, IDEQ
identified and elaborated upon the agency’s “specific water quality and environmental project
requirements and concerns” relating to the proposed abandonment.
IDEQ states that its correspondence with the Commission is “pursuant to Executive
Order 94-01 that provides that the IPUC must approve all state agencies comments submitted to
the Surface Transportation Board (STB) prior to submittal.” IDEQ requests that the Commission
advise the agency as to whether their “comments are appropriate and should be submitted to the
STB.”
THE COMMISSION’S ROLE IN ABANDONMENTS
The STB is the federal entity with the authority to approve or deny railroad
abandonments. However, Idaho Code § 62-424 provides that the Commission “shall schedule a
public hearing on the proposed abandonment.” The purpose of the state abandonment hearing is
for the Commission to determine whether the abandonment would: (1) adversely affect the area
being served; (2) impair the access of Idaho shippers to vital goods and markets; and (3) whether
DECISION MEMORANDUM 2
the rail line has the potential for profitability. If the Commission finds that the abandonment
would adversely affect the area being served and the line has the potential for profitability, then
the Commission may represent the State of Idaho in the STB abandonment proceeding.
IDEQ indicates in its letter to the Commission that PCCR has filed a petition seeking
an abandonment exemption with the STB. Unlike the traditional abandonment process, the
exemption process allows a railroad to abandon a rail line in as few as 30 days. Under the
exemption process, there is no requirement to file a notice of intent to abandon or an annual
system diagram map showing rail lines in jeopardy. To be eligible to file a petition for
exemption, a railroad must certify that no rail traffic has moved on the line for the past two years
and there are no outstanding complaints about the lack of rail service on the line. Under the
exemption procedure, the STB will publish a notice in the Federal Register within 20 days after
the petition for exemption is filed. Thirty (30) days after the notice is published in the Federal
Register, the railroad is permitted to abandon the rail line unless the STB stays the abandonment.
COMMISSION DECISION
Does the Commission wish to issue a Notice of Proposed Abandonment?

M:PRC-R-09-01_np