[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19136-19137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7173]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 265X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment and Discontinuance of 
Trackage Rights Exemption--In Los Angeles County, CA

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon the Santa Monica Industrial Lead from milepost 485.61 to 
milepost 485.69 and to discontinue trackage rights from milepost 485.69 
to milepost 486.00,\1\ a total distance of 0.39 miles in the City of 
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA. The line traverses United States 
Postal Service Zip Codes 90011 and 90058.
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    \1\ The portion of the line over which UP proposes to 
discontinue trackage rights was sold by UP's predecessor, Southern 
Pacific Transportation Company, to the Los Angeles Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority in 1990.
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    UP 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

[[Page 19137]]

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 of 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 or discontinuance of trackage rights 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 May 8, 2008, 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 
April 18, 2008. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 28, 2008, 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 
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 $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to UP's 
representative: Gabriel S. Meyer, Assistant 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 
addressing the effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance 
of the trackage rights on the environment and historic resources. SEA 
will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by April 11, 2008. 
Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 
1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by 
calling SEA, 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), 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 April 
8, 2009, 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: April 1, 2008.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Anne K. Quinlan,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-7173 Filed 4-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P