(The Surface Transportation Board issued the following on June 22, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal Surface Transportation Board announced today that it will hold a public hearing in Presque Isle, Maine, on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, to allow interested persons to comment on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, Ltd.’s application to abandon 233 miles of line in Aroostook and Penobscot Counties.
The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. at the District Court House, 27 Riverside Drive, Presque Isle.
Based on parties’ earlier notices of intent to participate in a hearing, the Board has set a schedule of speakers; however, given that the hearing has been rescheduled, parties are not obligated to appear. Parties should confirm, by June 24, 2010, that their proposed speakers will testify at the July 7 hearing.
In February 2010, MMA filed an application to discontinue service and abandon the line. The State of Maine opposed MMA’s proposal, and sought funds—partially through a successful bond referendum earlier this month—to acquire the line and preserve service, should the Board grant MMA’s application. Following a June 8, 2010 meeting of MMA, the State, and Board mediation staff, MMA asked the Board to extend the schedule in this case so that the State could participate in confidential mediation over the line’s future. Favoring negotiated dispute resolution, the Board granted MMA’s request. On June 18, 2010, the parties notified the Board that they are at an impasse.
The Board stated that it must balance MMA’s interests against the public interest of facilitating continued rail service.
Offers of Financial Assistance (OFAs) to either purchase the line or subsidize its continued service are due by July 19, 2010, but the start of the OFA process may be postponed pending the Board’s final decision.
The Board scheduled the July 7 hearing in its decision issued today in Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, Ltd.—Discontinuance of Service and Abandonment—In Aroostook and Penobscot Counties, ME, Docket No. AB-1043 (Sub-No. 1). The full public record in this case is available at www.stb.dot.gov