[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 53 (Monday, March 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13570-13571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5484]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-170 (Sub-No. 2X); STB Docket No. AB-398 (Sub-No. 
10X)]


Sunset Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Kern County, 
CA; San Joaquin Valley Railroad Company--Discontinuance Exemption--in 
Kern County, CA

    Sunset Railway Company (SRY) and San Joaquin Valley Railroad 
Company (SJVR) (collectively, petitioners) have jointly filed a notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152, subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and 
Discontinuances of Service for SRY to abandon, and SJVR to discontinue 
service over, a 0.20-mile line of railroad, known as the Sunset 
Subdivision near Levee, between milepost 19.80 and milepost 20.00, in 
Kern County, CA. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip 
Code 93268.
    SRY and SJVR have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved 
over the line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved 
over the line for at least 2 years and 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 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 (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 the governmental 
agencies) have been meet.
    As a condition to these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or discontinuance 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, these exemptions will be effective 
on April 20, 2005, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to 
stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal

[[Page 13571]]

expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
March 31, 2005. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 11, 2005, with: 
Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
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    \1\ 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.
    \2\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by 
the filing fee, which currently is set at $1,200. See 49 CFR 
1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representatives: Attorney for SRY, Mack H. Shumate, Jr., 
101 North Wacker Drive, Room 1920, Chicago, IL 60606; Attorneys for 
SJVR, Gary A. Laakso, Vice President Regulatory Counsel, Rail America, 
Inc., 5300 Broken Sound Blvd., NW., Second Floor, Boca Raton, FL 33487 
and Louis E. Gitomer, Ball Janik LLP, 1455 F Street, NW., Suite 225, 
Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    SRV and SJVR have filed an environmental report which addresses the 
effects, if any of the abandonment and discontinuance on the 
environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by March 25, 2005. 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), SRY 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 SRY's filing of a notice of 
consummation by March 21, 2006, 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: March 14, 2005.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-5484 Filed 3-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P