[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7908-7909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02989]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1120X; Docket No. AB 1120 (Sub-No. 1X)]


The State of New Hampshire--Abandonment Exemption--in Grafton 
County, NH; Claremont Concord Railroad Corporation--Discontinuance of 
Service Exemption--in Grafton County, NH

    The State of New Hampshire (the State) and Claremont Concord 
Railroad Corporation (CCRC) (collectively, applicants) have jointly 
filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--
Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for the State to 
abandon, and for CCRC to discontinue service over, approximately 0.97 
miles of rail line between milepost B140 (Station 3515+69) and milepost 
B141 (Station 3568+49) in Lebanon, Grafton County, N.H. (the Line). The 
Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 03766.
    Applicants have 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 overhead traffic, if there were 
any, could be rerouted over other Lines; (3) no formal complaint has 
been 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 and no such complaint is either 
pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. 
District Court or has been decided in favor of a 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 these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or discontinuance 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, these exemptions will be 
effective on March 14, 2015, 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 
February 23, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by March 4, 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 
applicants' representative: Ashley J. Romeo-Boles, Schuster, Buttrey & 
Wing, P.A., 79 Hanover St., P.O. Box 388, Lebanon, NH 03766.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have filed a combined environmental and historic report 
that addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and 
discontinuance on the environment and historic resources. OEA will 
issue an environmental assessment (EA) by February 17, 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 (FIRS) 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), the State 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 the State's filing of a notice of 
consummation by February 12, 2016, and there are no legal or regulatory 
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically 
expire.

[[Page 7909]]

    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: February 9, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-02989 Filed 2-11-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P