[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77791-77792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30635]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 337 (Sub-No. 7X)]


Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Scott County, Iowa

    Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation d/b/a Canadian 
Pacific (DM&E) has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 
part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 0.66-mile line of 
railroad referred to as Blackhawk Spur, between milepost 0.33+/- and 
milepost 0.99 +/- in Scott County, Iowa (the Line). The Line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Code 52802.
    DM&E has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the Line can 
be and has been rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint has 
been 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 and no such complaint is either 
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 January 23, 2014, unless stayed pending

[[Page 77792]]

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 January 3, 2014. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by January 13, 2014, 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 
DM&E's representative: W. Karl Hansen, Leonard, Street and Deinard, 150 
South Fifth Street, Suite 2300, Minneapolis, MN 55402.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    DM&E 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 December 27, 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 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), DM&E 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 DM&E's filing of a notice of 
consummation by December 24, 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: December 19, 2013.

    By the Board.
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-30635 Filed 12-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P