[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38712-38713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15788]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 117 (Sub-No. 8X)]
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--
in Grundy County, Ill.
Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) \1\ has filed a
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon a 2.26-mile line of railroad, known as the
Goose Lake Segment, extending from milepost 27.91 to the end of the
track at milepost 30.17 near Morris, in Grundy County, Ill.\2\ The line
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 60450.
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\1\ EJ&E is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Canadian
National Railway Company. See Canadian Nat'l Ry. & Grand Trunk
Corp.--Control--EJ&E West Co., FD 35087 (STB served Dec. 24, 2008).
\2\ EJ&E states that the Goose Lake Segment is at the south end
of the remaining portion of its Coal City Branch. EJ&E also states
that the last traffic on the line moved prior to 1991. The line was
recently utilized by a private firm to test track geometry
equipment; that use ended on May 1, 2009.
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In the notice, EJ&E explains that, following abandonment, it
intends to convey the right-of-way to the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources (ILDNR). In turn, ILDNR plans to use the right-of-way
to connect with two properties that are adjacent to the right-of-way to
increase the quality of the wetland and migratory bird habitat.
EJ&E has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least two 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 two-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.
Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be
effective on July 28, 2012, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ formal
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed
by July 9, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by July 18, 2012, with
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC
20423-0001.
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\3\ 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.
\4\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is
currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
EJ&E's representative: Jeremy M. Berman, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29
North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
EJ&E 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 July 3, 2012. 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 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), EJ&E 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 EJ&E's filing of a notice of
consummation by June 28, 2013, and
[[Page 38713]]
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
www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: June 19, 2012.
By the Board, Richard Armstrong, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-15788 Filed 6-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P