[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 130 (Monday, July 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38499-38500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15004]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-577 (Sub-No. 1X)]


Mohall Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Walsh County, ND

    Mohall Railroad, Inc. (MRI) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 
7.06-mile line of railroad known as the Voss line, extending from 
milepost 137.09 at Voss to milepost 130.03 at Forest River, in Walsh 
County, ND. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 
58261 and 58233.
    MRI has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) all overhead traffic has been 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 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 report), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic 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 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 August 6, 2008, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do

[[Page 38500]]

not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 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 July 17, 2008. Petitions 
to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 
must be filed by July 28, 2008, with the Surface Transportation Board, 
395 E Street, SW., 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 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 MRI's 
representative: Michael J. Barron, Jr., Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North 
Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606-2832.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    MRI has filed an environmental and historic report addressing the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic 
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by July 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), MRI 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 MRI's filing of a notice of 
consummation by July 7, 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: June 27, 2008.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings
Anne K. Quinlan,
Acting Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-15004 Filed 7-3-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P