[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 65040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25741]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 314 (Sub-No. 6X)]


Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Linn County, Iowa

    Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad Company (CCP) \1\ has filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon an approximately 0.49-mile line of railroad 
extending between milepost 230.24 and milepost 229.75 in Cedar Rapids, 
Linn County, Iowa (the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Code 52302.
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    \1\ CCP is an indirect subsidiary of Canadian National Railway 
Company (CNR) and is controlled by Grand Trunk Corporation, a wholly 
owned subsidiary of CNR.
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    CCP 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 to be rerouted over other lines; (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 November 29, 2013, unless stayed pending 
reconsideration.\2\ 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 CFR 
1152.29 must be filed by November 12, 2013. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by November 19, 2013, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \2\ This notice was scheduled to be published in the Federal 
Register during the time that the agency was closed due to a lapse 
in appropriations. Because publication of this notice has been 
delayed, the effective date of the exemption will also be delayed to 
provide adequate notice to the public.
    \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 $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to CCP's 
representative: Audrey L. Brodrick, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 N. Wacker 
Dr., Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    CCP has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA issued an environmental assessment (EA) on 
October 23, 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 by November 7, 2013.
    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), CCP 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 CCP's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 30, 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: October 24, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-25741 Filed 10-29-13; 8:45 am]
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