[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5867-5868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01687]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1107X]


West Michigan Railroad Co.--Abandonment Exemption--in Van Buren 
County, MI

    West Michigan Railroad Co. (WMI) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon approximately 10.67 miles of rail line between milepost 19.88 
(west of the line's crossing of 56th Street near Lawrence, Mich.) and 
milepost 30.55 (east of Kalamazoo Street in Paw Paw, Mich.), in Van 
Buren County, Mich. The

[[Page 5868]]

line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 49064 and 49079.
    WMI 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 February 27, 2013, 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 
February 7, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 19, 2013, 
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 $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to WMI's 
representative: William A. Mullins, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 
300, Washington, DC 20037.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    WMI 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 February 1, 2013. 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), WMI 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 WMI's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 28, 2014, 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: January 23, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-01687 Filed 1-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P