[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60599-60600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25091]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 32 (Sub-No. 104X); Docket No. AB 355 (Sub-No. 40X)]


Boston & Maine Corporation--Abandonment Exemptions--in 
Rockingham, NH; Springfield Terminal Railway Company--Discontinuance of 
Service Exemptions--in Rockingham, NH

    Boston & 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 ST 
to discontinue service over approximately 10 miles of railroad

[[Page 60600]]

known as the Hampton Branch in Rockingham County, NH. The rail line 
extends from milepost 0.00 to milepost 10.0, and includes the cities of 
Portsmouth, Greenland, Rye, North Hampton, and Hampton. The Line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 03801, 03840, 03842, 
03862, and 03870.
    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; and (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on 
the line (or state or local agency 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. 
Applicants have further certified that 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 discontinuance of service 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.
    Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of 
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be 
effective on October 29, 2011, unless stayed pending 
reconsideration.\1\ Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental 
issues,\2\ formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 
1152.29 must be filed by October 11, 2011. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by October 19, 2011, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \1\ Originally, applicants indicated that the proposed 
consummation date was on or about October 28, 2011, but, because the 
verified notice was filed on September 9, 2011, the earliest this 
transaction may be consummated is October 29, 2011. On September 19, 
2011, applicants' counsel filed a letter correcting the proposed 
consummation date.
    \2\ 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.
    \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 
applicants' representative: Robert B. Burns, 1700 Iron Horse Park, 
North Billerica, MA 01862.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    B&M has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on 
the environment and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by October 4, 2011. Interested persons may obtain a 
copy of the EA by writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation 
Board, 395 E Street, SW., 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 29, 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: September 23, 2011.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Andrea Pope-Matheson,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-25091 Filed 9-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P