[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 7303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3068]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 279X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Polk 
County, IA

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon 
.20 miles of a line of railroad on the Ankeny Industrial Lead from 
milepost 10.50 in Ankeny to milepost 10.70 in Ankeny, in Polk County, 
IA. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 50021.
    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 to 
be rerouted; (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 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 March 20, 2010, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do 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 
March 1, 2010. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by March 10, 2010,\3\ 
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 $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \3\ UP notes that the property proposed for abandonment is not 
suitable for public purposes.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to UP's 
representative: Mack H. Shumate, Jr., Senior General Attorney, 101 
North Wacker Drive, Room 1920, Chicago, IL 60606.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    UP has filed a combined environmental and historic report, which 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by February 23, 2010. 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 
February 18, 2011, 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 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: February 12, 2010.

    By the Board.
Rachel D. Campbell,
 Director, Office of Proceedings.
Andrea Pope-Matheson,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2010-3068 Filed 2-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P