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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 20 (Friday, January 31, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8733-8734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02072]

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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 1343X]

Saratoga Railroad, LLC--Abandonment Exemption--in Carbon County, 
Wyo.

    Saratoga Railroad, LLC (Saratoga), has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152, subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon an approximately 23.71-mile rail line between milepost 0.57, 
near Walcott, Wyo., and milepost 24.28, at Saratoga, Wyo., in Carbon 
County, Wyo. (the Line).\1\ The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip 
Codes 82331 and 82335.
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    \1\ In 2006, the Board authorized Wyoming and Colorado Railroad 
Company, Inc. (WYCO), the Line's then-owner, to abandon it. Wyo. & 
Colo. R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Carbon Cnty., Wyo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 
6X) (STB served May 1, 2006). WYCO, however, did not file a notice 
of consummation by the May 2007 deadline, and, as a result, its 
abandonment authority automatically expired at that time. In 2017, 
Saratoga (which at that time was under common control with WYCO) 
acquired the Line from WYCO. See Durbano--Corp. Fam. Transaction, FD 
36091 (STB served Feb. 2, 2017). On April 1, 2024, Saratoga and its 
parent company, Western Group Holding Company, Inc., (which by that 
time were no longer affiliated with WYCO) filed a petition in WYCO's 
2006 abandonment docket asking the Board to waive the requirement 
for WYCO to have filed a consummation notice or extension request by 
the May 2007 deadline, in order to permit Saratoga to consummate the 
2006 abandonment authority itself. That request was denied, and 
Saratoga was advised that if it wished to abandon the Line, it must 
file for abandonment authority in a new docket. Wyo. & Colo. R.R.--
Aban. Exemption--in Carbon Cnty., Wyo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 6X), slip 
op. at 3 (STB served Aug. 13, 2024).
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    Saratoga has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over 
the Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the Line 
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 past two years; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) 
and 1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic reports), 49 CFR 
1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to 
government 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,\2\ this exemption will be 
effective on March 2, 2025, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do

[[Page 8734]]

not involve environmental issues,\3\ 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 February 10, 
2025.\4\ Petitions to reopen and requests for public use conditions 
under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed February 20, 2025.
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    \2\ 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).
    \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\ 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 1343X, 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 
Saratoga's representative, William A. Mullins, Mullins Law Group PLLC, 
2001 L St. NW, Suite 720, Washington, DC 20036.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Saratoga 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 February 7, 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), Saratoga 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 Saratoga's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 31, 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 28, 2025.

    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-02072 Filed 1-30-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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