[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32535-32536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13761]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION



Surface Transportation Board



[Docket No. AB 117 (Sub-No. 7X)]




Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--

in Lake County, IN.



    Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) filed a verified 

notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt 

Abandonments to abandon its line of railroad between milepost 46.10 and 

milepost 48.28, a distance of 2.18 miles, in Hammond, Lake County, Ind. 

The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 46320.

    EJ&E has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 

line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic 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 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 Railroad 

and The Union Pacific Railroad Co.--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch 

Between Firth and Ammon, In Bingham and Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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 July 8, 2010, unless stayed pending reconsideration.\1\ 

Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\2\



[[Page 32536]]



formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 

11152.27(c)(2),\3\ and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 

1152.29 must be filed by June 18, 2010. Petitions to reopen or requests 

for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by June 

28, 2010, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20423-0001.

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    \1\ Pursuant to 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(2), the railroad must file a 

verified notice with the Board at least 50 days before an 

abandonment or discontinuance is to be consummated. EJ&E has 

indicated a proposed consummation date of July 6, 2010, but, because 

the verified notice was filed on May 19, 2010, the earliest this 

transaction may be consummated is July 8, 2010.

    \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 is 

currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 

EJ&E's representative: Thomas J. Healey, 17641 S. Ashland Avenue, 

Homewood, IL 60430.

    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 

the exemption is void ab initio.

    EJ&E 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 June 11, 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), EJ&E 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 EJ&E's filing of a notice of 

consummation by June 8, 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 

``http://www.stb.dot.gov.''



    Decided: June 2, 2010.



    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 

Proceedings.

Jeffrey Herzig,

Clearance Clerk.

[FR Doc. 2010-13761 Filed 6-7-10; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915-01-P