[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37204-37205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14912]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 83 (Sub-No. 17X); Docket No. AB 355 (Sub-No. 44X)]


Maine Central Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Me.; Springfield Terminal Railway 
Company--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Kennebec and Somerset 
Counties, Me.

    Maine Central Railroad Company (MEC) and Springfield Terminal 
Railway Company (ST) (collectively, Applicants), have jointly filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for MEC to abandon, and ST 
to discontinue service over, an approximately 32.46-mile rail line 
known as the Madison Branch, between milepost 0.00 and milepost 32.46, 
in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Me. (the Line). The Line traverses 
U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 04963, 04901, 04957, 04950, 04911, and 
04958.
    Applicants have 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 and 1105.8 
(notice of environmental and historic report), 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 and discontinuance of service 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

[[Page 37205]]

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,\1\ the exemptions will be 
effective on August 13, 2021, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues must be 
filed by July 23, 2021.\2\ Formal expressions of intent to file an OFA 
under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), and interim trail use/rail banking requests 
under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by July 26, 2021.\3\ Petitions to 
reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must 
be filed by August 3, 2021.
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    \1\ 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).
    \2\ 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 exemptions' 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 exemptions' effective 
date.
    \3\ 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 Nos. AB 83 (Sub-No. 17X) and AB 
355 (Sub-No. 44), should be filed with the Surface Transportation Board 
via e-filing on the Board's website. In addition, a copy of each 
pleading must be served on Applicants' representative, Robert B. Burns, 
Pan Am Railways, 1700 Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA 01862. If 
the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the 
exemption is void ab initio.
    Applicants have 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 July 19, 2021. The Draft EA will 
be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing 
to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the hearing 
impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339. Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must 
be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes available to the 
public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or interim 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), MEC shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the abandonment authority granted and fully abandoned the 
Line. If consummation has not been effected by MEC's filing of a notice 
of consummation by July 14, 2022, 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: July 8, 2021.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Brendetta Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-14912 Filed 7-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P