[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 69520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28359]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1065X]


Indiana Southwestern Railway Co.--Abandonment Exemption--in Posey 
and Vanderburgh Counties, IN

    Indiana Southwestern Railway Co. (ISW) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon 17.2 miles of interconnecting rail lines extending between (1) 
milepost 227.5 at Poseyville, Ind., and milepost 240.2 near German 
Township, Ind. (approximately 12.7 miles); and (2) milepost 277.5 at 
Cynthiana, Ind., and milepost 282.0 at Poseyville, Ind. (approximately 
4.5 miles). The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 
47612, 47620, 47633, 47708, 47720, and 47725.
    ISW 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(c) 
(environmental 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--
Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & 
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 December 14, 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 
November 22, 2010. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by December 2, 2010, 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 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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 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 ISW's 
representative: William A. Mullins, Baker & Miller PLLC, 2401 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    ISW has filed a combined environmental and historic report which 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by November 19, 2010. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 
20423-0001) or by calling OEA, 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), ISW 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 ISW's filing of a notice of 
consummation by November 12, 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 website at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: November 4, 2010.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2010-28359 Filed 11-10-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P