[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55161-55162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22291]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 32; Sub-No. 103X; \1\ Docket No. AB 355; Sub-No. 39X]


Boston and Maine Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--Middlesex 
County, Mass.; Springfield Terminal Railway Company; Discontinuance of 
Service Exemption; Middlesex County, MA
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    \1\ The abandonment notice of exemption was inadvertently filed 
as Docket No. AB 1083X and the discontinuance of service notice of 
exemption was inadvertently filed as Docket No. AB 1084X. The 
correct docket numbers for these transactions are Docket No. AB 32 
(Sub-No. 103X) and Docket No. AB 355 (Sub-No. 39X), respectively.
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    Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) and Springfield Terminal Railway 
Company (ST) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for B&M to abandon, and for 
ST to discontinue service over, a 1.72-mile line of railroad known as 
the Watertown Branch extending from milepost 4.28 to milepost 6.0 in 
Middlesex County, Mass. The line traverses United States Postal Service 
Zip Codes 02471 and 02138.
    Applicants have 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 these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or discontinuance 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

[[Page 55162]]

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 October 6, 2011, unless stayed pending reconsideration.\2\ 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
September 16, 2011. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 26, 2011, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20423-0001.
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    \2\ 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. Applicants 
indicated consummation date of October 5, 2011, but, because the 
verified notice was filed on August 17, 2011, the earliest this 
transaction may be consummated is October 6, 2011.
    \3\ 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.
    \4\ 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 
applicants' representative: Robert B. Burns, Esq., Pan Am Railways, 
Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA 01862.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have 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 September 9, 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), B&M 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 B&M's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 6, 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: August 25, 2011.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-22291 Filed 9-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P