[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38711-38712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15791]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1099X]


Sunflour Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Roberts and 
Marshall Counties, S.D.

    Sunflour Railroad, Inc. (SRI), has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon 8.1 miles of rail line between milepost 228.2 at the east 
property line of 454th Avenue, located approximately one mile west of 
Claire City, and milepost 236.3 located at the western terminus of the 
line at Washington Avenue in Veblen, in Roberts and Marshall Counties, 
S.D. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 57224 
and 57270.
    SRI has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (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.
    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,\1\

[[Page 38712]]

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 9, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests 
for public use conditions under 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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    \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 SRI's 
representative: Thomas F. McFarland, 208 South LaSalle St., Suite 1890, 
Chicago, IL 60604.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    SRI 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 (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), SRI 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 SRI's filing of a notice of 
consummation by June 28, 2013, 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 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: June 19, 2012.

    By the Board, Richard Armstrong, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-15791 Filed 6-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P