Interesting arrangement. Thanks for the reference. State expressly did not grant authority to abandon the line once acquired (3rd paragraph of 93001) at least by stated intent. So even if the enviros/trails people came in with a wonderful offer to take the North End off NCRA's hands they can't do it if it involves abandonment. NCRA is kind of between a rock and a hard place, so the present policy of neglect is probably the only one they can follow since they don't have money.

By the way, 93005, 93024, and 93025, taken together, make it clear that NCRA is a local agency, and that the state is expressly not responsible for anything it does. They are set up, like the GGBridge District was, by state legislation, but all activities and management are local. IOW the enviro-story in the paper is wrong - they are not a state agency.

Their job, with no ongoing source of funds, is to own, repair, and operate a railroad. Good luck! So they have to beg for some pennies each year, I guess, just to keep the lights on and the phone working. Not a great way to do business. Given the setup, I would expect them to play the Feds-only-regulate-us card aggressively - CEQA is a black hole for dollars and time if not carefully managed, and in their situation that kind of management is nearly impossible.