[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 36617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15594]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 298X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Freeborn County, MN

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a line of railroad, known as the Hartland Subdivision, between 
milepost 119.65 at Curtis, the point of connection with the Albert Lea 
Subdivision, and the end of UP ownership at milepost 107.0 near 
Hartland, a distance of 12.65 miles, in Freeborn County, MN. The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 56007 and 56042.
    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; (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 
Railroad--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.
    All interested persons should be aware that, following abandonment 
of rail service and salvage of the line, the line may be suitable for 
other public use, including interim trail use. Provided no formal 
expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has 
been received, this exemption will be effective on July 22, 2011, 
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 July 5, 2011. Petitions 
to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 
must be filed by July 12, 2011, 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 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 that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by June 27, 2011. 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), 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 June 
22, 2012, 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 17, 2011.

    By the Board.
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Andrea Pope-Matheson,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-15594 Filed 6-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P