[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 50729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23765]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 327X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment and Discontinuance of 
Service Exemption--in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and 
Discontinuance of Service for UP to: (1) Abandon a 2.0-mile portion of 
UP's Rockwell Industrial Lead in Mason City, Iowa, between milepost 
155.5 near Elm Street and milepost 157.5 near 19th Street; and (2) 
discontinue service over a 0.5-mile portion of UP's Rockwell Industrial 
Lead near Swifts, Iowa, between milepost 157.5 and milepost 158.0, near 
Swifts, Iowa (the Line).\1\ The Line is entirely within Cerro Gordo 
County, Iowa, and traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 
50401.
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    \1\ In the verified notice, UP states that after the proposed 
abandonment, UP will continue to provide rail service from the 
remaining portion of the Rockwell Industrial Lead, as well as the 
Mason City and Albert Lea Subdivisions of the Spine Line, which lie 
within one mile of the Line.
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    UP has certified that: (1) No local or overhead traffic has moved 
over the Line for at least two years; (2) there is no need to reroute 
any traffic 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 two-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 
become effective on December 1, 2017, 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 interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 
CFR 1152.29 must be filed by November 9, 2017. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by November 21, 2017, 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 $1,800. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. 
Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.--2017 
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. C at 20 (STB served July 
28, 2017).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to UP's 
representative: Jeremy M. Berman, General Attorney, 1400 Douglas 
Street, Stop 1580, Omaha, NE 68179.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    UP 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 November 6, 2017. 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 at (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 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), UP 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 UP's filing of a notice of consummation by 
November 1, 2018, 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 
``WWW.STB.GOV.''

    Decided: October 26, 2017.
    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017-23765 Filed 10-31-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P