[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 236 (Wednesday, December 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 76617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31006]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 331 (Sub-No. 2X)]
The Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois
Metropolitan District--Abandonment Exemption--in the City of St. Louis,
MO
The Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois
Metropolitan District (Metro) has filed a verified notice of exemption
under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to abandon 1.43
miles of rail line extending from milepost 1.8 to milepost 3.23 within
the City of St. Louis, Missouri (the Line). The Line traverses United
States Postal Service Zip Codes 63110 and 63108.
Metro has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
Line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the
Line for at least two years, and if there were any overhead traffic, it
could be rerouted over other lines; (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 January 8, 2016, 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
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be
filed by December 21, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by December 29, 2015,
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC
20423-0001.
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\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 $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
Metro's representative: James C. Hetlage, Lashly & Baer, P.C., 714
Locust Street, St. Louis, MO 63101.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
Metro 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 December 14, 2015. 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 (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), Metro 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 Metro's filing of a notice of
consummation by December 9, 2016, 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
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''
Decided: December 4, 2015.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-31006 Filed 12-8-15; 8:45 am]
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