[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62445-62446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25386]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 330 (Sub-No. 4X)]


Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption--
in Otter Tail County, MN

    Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company, Inc. (OTVR) filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152

[[Page 62446]]

subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 0.822-mile line of railroad 
between milepost 48.422 near Fergus Falls, and milepost 47.60 near Hoot 
Lake, in Otter Tail County, Minn.\1\ The line traverses United States 
Postal Service Zip Code 56537.
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    \1\ OTVR states that once abandonment authority has been 
approved, Otter Tail Power Corporation, one of its largest shippers, 
has expressed an interest in purchasing a portion of the right-of-
way.
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    OTVR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 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 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 2-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 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, this exemption will be 
effective on November 10, 2010, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\2\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
October 18, 2010. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 28, 2010, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \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 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.
    \3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
OTVR's representative: Melanie B. Yasbin, Law Offices of Louis E. 
Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    OTVR has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by October 15, 2010. 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 1-800-877-8339. 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), OTVR 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 OTVR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 8, 2011, and there are no legal or regulatory 
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically 
expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: October 5, 2010.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2010-25386 Filed 10-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P