[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 145 (Monday, July 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43822-43823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16953]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 270X); STB Docket No. AB-486 (Sub-No. 
5X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Osborne 
and Smith Counties, KS; Kyle Railroad Company--Discontinuance of 
Service Exemption--in Osborne and Smith Counties, KS

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and Kyle Railroad Company 
(Kyle) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and 
Discontinuances of Service for UP to abandon, and for Kyle to 
discontinue service over, a 12.4-mile portion of a line of railroad 
known as the Lenora Branch Line, extending between milepost 540.3, west 
of Downs, KS, and milepost 552.7, west of Portis, KS, at the end of the 
line, in Osborne and Smith Counties.\1\ The line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 67437, 67474, and 67638.
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    \1\ Applicants originally filed their verified notice of 
exemption on July 8, 2008, but filed a supplement to their notice on 
July 11, 2008, certifying applicants' compliance with the notice 
requirements of 49 CFR 1105.11.
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    Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over 
the line for at least 2 years; (2) 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 the 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 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 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 August 27, 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 
August 7, 2008. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by August 18, 2008,\4\ 
with: 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 exemptions' 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 exemptions' 
effective date.
    \3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,500. The filing fee for an OFA increased from 
$1,300 to $1,500, effective July 18, 2008. See Regulations Governing 
Fees for Services Performed in Connection With Licensing and Related 
Services--2008 Update, STB Ex Parte No. 542 (Sub-No. 15) (STB served 
June 18, 2008), which amends 49 CFR Part 1002 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations.
    \4\ Applicants note, however, that they do not believe that the 
line of railroad is suitable for other public purposes. Applicants 
also state that, if the abandonment is authorized, they may 
reclassify 2.7 miles of the line between milepost 540.3 and milepost 
543.0 as side track for storage and staging.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representatives: (1) Mack H. Shumate, Jr., Senior General 
Attorney, Union Pacific Railroad Company, 101 North Wacker Drive, Room 
1920, Chicago, IL 60606; and (2) Louis E. Gitomer, Esq., Law Offices of 
Louis E. Gitomer, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have filed a joint combined environmental and historic 
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 August 1, 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 July 
28, 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: July 21, 2008.


[[Page 43823]]


    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Anne K. Quinlan,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-16953 Filed 7-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P