[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 36617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15594]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 298X)]
Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in
Freeborn County, MN
Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon a line of railroad, known as the Hartland Subdivision, between
milepost 119.65 at Curtis, the point of connection with the Albert Lea
Subdivision, and the end of UP ownership at milepost 107.0 near
Hartland, a distance of 12.65 miles, in Freeborn County, MN. The line
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 56007 and 56042.
UP has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line
for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the line; (3)
no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line (or by
a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user)
regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending with the
Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. District Court or
has been decided in favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and
(4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 49 CFR
1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication),
and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been
met.
As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected
by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line
Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in
Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address
whether this condition adequately protects affected employees, a
petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed.
All interested persons should be aware that, following abandonment
of rail service and salvage of the line, the line may be suitable for
other public use, including interim trail use. Provided no formal
expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has
been received, this exemption will be effective on July 22, 2011,
unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not
involve environmental issues,\1\ formal expressions of intent to file
an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and trail use/rail banking
requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by July 5, 2011. Petitions
to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28
must be filed by July 12, 2011, with the Surface Transportation Board,
395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date.
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any
request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that the
Board may take appropriate action before the exemption's effective
date.
\2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is
currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to UP's
representative: Mack H. Shumate, Jr., Senior General Attorney, 101
North Wacker Drive, Room 1920, Chicago, IL 60606.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
UP has filed a combined environmental and historic report that
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA)
by June 27, 2011. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC
20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. Comments on environmental and
historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA
becomes available to the public.
Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent
decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), UP shall file a
notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has exercised
the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If consummation has
not been effected by UP's filing of a notice of consummation by June
22, 2012, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to
consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire.
Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: June 17, 2011.
By the Board.
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Andrea Pope-Matheson,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-15594 Filed 6-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P