Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 169 / Friday, September 3, 2021 / Notices 49591 

1The verified notice states that five miles of the 

Grand Island Branch were the subject of two prior 

acquisition and operation proceedings, but the 

authority was never consummated and the Line 

remains private trackage. See Cornhusker Rys.— 

Acquis. & Operation Exemption—Rail Line of DTE 

Rail Servs., Inc., FD 34719 (STB served July 20, 

2005); Freightcar Short Line, Inc.—Acquis. & 

Operation Exemption—Line of Cornhusker Rys., FD 

35423 (STB served Sept. 30, 2010). 

Scientific Affairs, Office of 

Environmental Quality, by email to 

Gonzalez-RuizA@state.gov with the 

subject line ‘‘CAFTA–DR EAC 

Meeting’’; and 

(2) Sigrid Simpson, Director for 

Environment and Natural Resources, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative by email to 

Sigrid.A.Simpson@ustr.eop.gov with the 

subject line ‘‘CAFTA–DR EAC 

Meeting’’. 

If you have access to the internet you 

can view and comment on this notice by 

going to: http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!home and searching for docket 

number DOS–2021–0029. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anel Gonzalez-Ruiz, (202) 705–5282, or 

Sigrid Simpson, (202) 881–6592. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 14, the Council will meet in a 

closed government-to-government 

session to (1) review implementation of 

the Environment chapter and discuss 

how parties are meeting their 

environment chapter obligations, 

including by highlighting increased 

levels of environmental protection, 

environmental enforcement, and related 

achievements in the past year; (2) 

discuss the most pressing trade-related 

environmental challenges facing the 

parties and identify key actions that the 

parties can take under CAFTA–DR to 

address them; (3) receive a report from 

the CAFTA–DR Secretariat for 

Environmental Matters on the status of 

public submissions; and (4) highlight 

the achievements of the CAFTA–DR 

Environmental Cooperation Program on 

its fifteenth anniversary and review 

ongoing work under that program. 

The Council invites all interested 

persons to attend a virtual public 

session on Chapter 17 implementation, 

beginning at 4:00 p.m. EDT on October 

14. At the session, the Council will 

welcome questions, input, and 

information about challenges and 

achievements in implementation of the 

Environment chapter obligations and 

the related ECA. If you would like to 

connect to the public session, please 

notify Anel Gonzalez-Ruiz and Sigrid 

Simpson at the email addresses listed 

under the heading ADDRESSES. Please 

include your full name and identify any 

organization or group you represent. 

Article 17.5 of the CAFTA–DR 

establishes an Environmental Affairs 

Council (the Council) and provides that, 

unless the CAFTA–DR parties otherwise 

agree, the Council will meet annually to 

oversee the implementation of, and 

review progress under, Chapter 17, and 

to consider the status of cooperation 

activities developed under the ECA. 

Article 17.5 further requires that, unless 

the parties otherwise agree, each 

meeting of the Council include a session 

in which members of the Council have 

an opportunity to meet with the public 

to discuss matters relating to the 

implementation of Chapter 17. 

In preparing comments, we encourage 

submitters to refer to: 

• Chapter 17 of the CAFTA–DR and 

• The ECA 

These documents are available at: 

https://www.state.gov/key-topics-officeof-environmental-quality-andtransboundary-issues/current-tradeagreements-with-environmentalchapters/#cafta-dr and https://ustr.gov/ 

issue-areas/environment/bilateral-andregional-trade-agreements. Visit the 

State website at www.state.gov and the 

USTR website at www.ustr.gov for more 

information. 

Raffi V. Balian, 

Acting Director, Office of Environmental 

Quality, U.S. Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19060 Filed 9–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. FD 36540] 

Cornhusker Railroad, LLC—Operation 

Exemption—Trackage in Hall and 

Adams Counties, Neb. 

Cornhusker Railroad, LLC (CORN), a 

noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of 

exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.31 

to operate approximately 27 miles of 

track in Hall and Adams Counties, Neb. 

(the Line). The Line consists of: (1) The 

Grand Island Branch, between a 

connection with BNSF Railway 

Company (BNSF) at West Airport Road 

near BNSF milepost 103.55 in Ovina, 

Neb., and a connection with Union 

Pacific Railroad Company (UP) at West 

Husker Highway near UP milepost 154.5 

in Alda, Neb., a distance of 

approximately five miles, and 

approximately 17 miles of connected 

industry track to the west, all located in 

Hall County; and (2) the Hastings 

Branch, consisting of approximately five 

miles of industry track that connects to 

UP’s Hastings Industrial Park 

Subdivision in Hastings, Adams County. 

According to CORN, no common carrier 

services are currently being offered on 

the Line.1

This transaction is related to a 

concurrently filed verified notice of 

exemption in Cathcart Rail, LLC— 

Continuance in Control Exemption— 

Cornhusker Railroad, Docket No. FD 

36541, in which Cathcart Rail, LLC, 

seeks to continue in control of CORN 

upon CORN’s becoming a Class III rail 

carrier. 

According to the verified notice, 

CORN has not yet entered into an 

agreement with the owner of the Line, 

but CORN states that, prior to exercising 

operating authority, it will acquire title 

to the rail assets that will be used in 

common carrier service. 

CORN states that the proposed 

transaction does not involve any 

provision or agreement that would limit 

future interchange on the Line with a 

third-party connecting carrier. CORN 

certifies that its projected annual 

revenue will not exceed $5 million and 

that the proposed transaction will not 

result in CORN’s becoming a Class I or 

II rail carrier. 

The earliest this transaction may be 

consummated is September 19, 2021, 

the effective date of the exemption (30 

days after the verified notice was filed). 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of 

a petition to revoke will not 

automatically stay the effectiveness of 

the exemption. Petitions for stay must 

be filed no later than September 10, 

2021. 

All pleadings, referring to Docket No. 

FD 36540, should be filed with the 

Surface Transportation Board via efiling on the Board’s website. In 

addition, a copy of each pleading must 

be served on CORN’s representative, 

David F. Rifkind, Stinson LLP, 1775 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800, 

Washington, DC 20006. 

According to CORN, this action is 

categorically excluded from 

environmental review under 49 CFR 

1105.6(c) and from historic preservation 

reporting requirements under 49 CFR 

1105.8(b). 

Board decisions and notices are 

available at www.stb.gov. 

Decided: August 31, 2021. 

By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Aretha Laws-Byrum, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19086 Filed 9–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 


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