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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 3272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00627]

[[Page 3272]]

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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 768X]

Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern Railroad Corporation--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Lewis and Jefferson Counties, N.Y.

    Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern Railroad Corporation (MAN), has filed 
a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon (1) an approximately 16-mile rail line that 
runs between milepost 58.1 and milepost 74.0 located between the 
Village of Lowville, N.Y., and the Village of Carthage, N.Y.; and (2) 
0.5 miles of an unused spur track and 300 feet of terminal end of main 
line all within the Village of Lyons Falls, N.Y.\1\ The lines traverse 
U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 13367, 13368 and 13619.
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    \1\ By decision served on January 22, 2024, the Board held this 
proceeding in abeyance and directed MAN to update its Environmental 
and Historic Report (E&H Report), serve that updated report on the 
parties required to receive it, and allow 20 days for responses. 
Mohawk, Adirondack & N. R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Lewis & Jefferson 
Cntys., N.Y., AB 768X et al., slip op. at 3-4, 8 (STB served Jan. 
22, 2024). By a separate decision served concurrently with this 
notice, the Board finds that MAN has complied with the Board's 
directive and therefore removes this proceeding from abeyance.
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    MAN has certified that: (1) no local freight traffic has moved over 
the Line during the past two years; (2) any overhead traffic can 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 on behalf 
of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line is pending 
with either the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or 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(b) and 
1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic reports),\2\ 49 CFR 
1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to 
government agencies) have been met.
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    \2\ On April 5, 2024, MAN submitted a verified supplement and 
amendment to its verified notice of exemption, which included a 
revised E&H Report. On May 12, 2024, MAN submitted additional 
revisions to its E&H Report.
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    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,\3\ this exemption will be 
effective on February 13, 2025, unless stayed pending 
reconsideration.\4\ Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental 
issues,\5\ formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2), and interim trail use/railbanking requests under 49 CFR 
1152.29 must be filed by January 24, 2025.\6\ Petitions to reopen and 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
February 3, 2025.
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    \3\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA must first file a 
formal expression of intent to file an offer, indicating the type of 
financial assistance they wish to provide (i.e., subsidy or 
purchase) and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially 
responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
    \4\ The Board received numerous comments in this docket from 
parties opposing the abandonment. In the decision served 
concurrently with this notice, the Board considers these comments as 
petitions to reject the verified notice and denies the petitions.
    \5\ 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.
    \6\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at 
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
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    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 768X, must be filed with 
the Surface Transportation Board either via e-filing on the Board's 
website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 
20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on 
MAN's representative, John K. Fiorilla, Dyer & Peterson PC, 605 Main 
Street, Suite 104, Riverton, NJ 08077-1440.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    MAN has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the 
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft 
Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) by January 17, 2025. The Draft EA 
will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by 
writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. If you require an 
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call 
(202) 245-0245. Comments on environmental or historic preservation 
matters must be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes 
available to the public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/
railbanking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a 
subsequent decision.
    Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), MAN 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 MAN's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 14, 2026, and there are no legal or regulatory 
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically 
expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: January 8, 2025.

    By the Board, Valerie O. Quinn, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-00627 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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