[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38712-38713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15788]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 117 (Sub-No. 8X)]


Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--
in Grundy County, Ill.

    Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) \1\ has filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon a 2.26-mile line of railroad, known as the 
Goose Lake Segment, extending from milepost 27.91 to the end of the 
track at milepost 30.17 near Morris, in Grundy County, Ill.\2\ The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 60450.
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    \1\ EJ&E is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Canadian 
National Railway Company. See Canadian Nat'l Ry. & Grand Trunk 
Corp.--Control--EJ&E West Co., FD 35087 (STB served Dec. 24, 2008).
    \2\ EJ&E states that the Goose Lake Segment is at the south end 
of the remaining portion of its Coal City Branch. EJ&E also states 
that the last traffic on the line moved prior to 1991. The line was 
recently utilized by a private firm to test track geometry 
equipment; that use ended on May 1, 2009.
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    In the notice, EJ&E explains that, following abandonment, it 
intends to convey the right-of-way to the Illinois Department of 
Natural Resources (ILDNR). In turn, ILDNR plans to use the right-of-way 
to connect with two properties that are adjacent to the right-of-way to 
increase the quality of the wetland and migratory bird habitat.
    EJ&E has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least two 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 two-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.
    Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of 
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be 
effective on July 28, 2012, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
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 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed 
by July 9, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by July 18, 2012, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \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 
EJ&E's representative: Jeremy M. Berman, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 
North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606.
    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 that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by July 3, 2012. 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 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 28, 2013, and

[[Page 38713]]

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 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: June 19, 2012.

    By the Board, Richard Armstrong, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-15788 Filed 6-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P