[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33891-33892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13318]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 586 (Sub-No. 3X)]


North Central Railway Association, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--
in Franklin and Hardin Counties, Iowa

    North Central Railway Association, Inc. (NCRA), has filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon 10.46 miles of rail line between milepost 
201.46 at or near Ackley, and milepost 191.0 at or near Geneva, in 
Franklin and Hardin Counties, Iowa. The line traverses United States 
Postal Service Zip Codes 50633 and 50601.
    NCRA 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 5, 2013, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an

[[Page 33892]]

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and trail use/rail banking requests 
under 49 CFR. 1152.29 must be filed by June 17, 2013. Petitions to 
reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR. 1152.28 must 
be filed by June 25, 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 
NCRA'S representative: T. Scott Bannister, 111 Fifty-Sixth Street, Des 
Moines, IA 50312.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NCRA 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 June 10, 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), NCRA 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 NCRA's filing of a notice of 
consummation by June 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: May 30, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-13318 Filed 6-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P