[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20714-20715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08001]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 302X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Dunn 
County, WI.

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a 0.58-mile line of railroad on its Menomonie Industrial Lead 
from milepost 0.32 near Cedar Falls Road to the end of the line at 
milepost 0.90 near Oak Avenue, in Menomonie, Dunn County, Wis. (the 
Line). The Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 54751.
    UP 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.

[[Page 20715]]

    Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of 
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be 
effective on May 7, 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 
April 15, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 25, 2013, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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).
    \3\ While UP does not believe that the Line's right-of-way is 
suitable for public purposes such as roads or highways or other 
forms of mass transportation, UP states that the right-of-way is 
suitable for conservation and use as a public hiking and bike trail, 
and indicates that it has negotiated a tentative agreement for such 
use with the City of Menomonie.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to UP's 
representative: Mack H. Shumate, Jr., Senior General Attorney, Union 
Pacific Railroad Company, 101 North Wacker Drive, Room 1920, Chicago, 
IL 60606.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    UP 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 April 12, 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 (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), UP 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 UP's filing of a notice of consummation by April 
5, 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: April 2, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-08001 Filed 4-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P