[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53973-53974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20034]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-862X]


Twin State Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Caledonia 
and Essex Counties, VT

    The Twin State Railroad Company (TSRR) has filed a notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon approximately 20 route miles of rail line between milepost 
0.057 in St. Johnsbury and Railroad Engineering Station 5503 at River 
Road (Town Road) in Lunenburg (Gilman), in Caledonia and

[[Page 53974]]

Essex Counties, VT.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal Service 
ZIP Codes 05819, 05824, and 05906.
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    \1\ The subject line is a portion of TSRR's line that extends 
between St. Johnsbury, VT, and Whitefield, NH (TSRR line). TSRR 
notes that related to this matter is a line of railroad that is 
owned by the State of Vermont and was operated by Lamoille Valley 
Railroad Company (LVRC) that extends between Swanton, VT, and St. 
Johnsbury, VT (LVRC line). The TSRR line and the LVRC line connected 
at St. Johnsbury and comprised a continuous corridor from Swanton to 
Whitefield. The LVRC line was recently authorized for abandonment. 
See Lamoille Valley Railroad Company--Abandonment and Discontinuance 
of Trackage Rights Exemption--in Caledonia, Washington, Orleans, 
Lamoille, and Franklin Counties, VT, STB Docket No. AB-444 (Sub-No. 
1X) (STB served Jan. 16, 2004).
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    TSRR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 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 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 (environmental reports), 49 
CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 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 R. Co.--
Abandonment--Goshen, 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 October 6, 
2004, 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 September 13, 2004. 
Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 
1152.28 must be filed by September 23, 2004, with: Surface 
Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., 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 
Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Service 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 
currently is set at $1,100. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
TSRR's representative: David H. Anderson, Esq., 288 Littleton Road, 
Suite 21, Westford, MA 01886.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    TSRR has filed an environmental report which addresses the effects, 
if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. 
SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by September 10, 2004. 
Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 
500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by 
calling SEA, at (202) 565-1539. (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), TSRR 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 TSRR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 3, 2005, 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: August 27, 2004. By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-20034 Filed 9-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P