[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 3663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01130]



[[Page 3663]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1087 (Sub-No. 2X)]


Grenada Railway LLC--Abandonment Exemption--in Yalobusha County, 
Mississippi

    Grenada Railway LLC (GRYR) has filed a verified notice of exemption 
under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon its 
Water Valley Branch railroad line between milepost 604.0 at Water 
Valley Junction and milepost 614.42 at Bruce Junction, a distance of 
10.42 miles, in Yalobusha County, Miss. The line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 38965 and 38915, and includes the Water 
Valley and Bruce Stations.
    GRYR has certified that no local or overhead traffic has moved over 
the line for at least two years and that 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. GRYR further has certified that 
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 21, 2014, 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 3, 2014. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 11, 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.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
GRYR's representative: Fritz R. Kahn, Fritz R. Kahn, P.C., 1919 M 
Street NW., (7th Floor), Washington, DC 20036.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    GRYR 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 January 27, 2014. 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), GRYR 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 GRYR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 22, 2015, 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.

    Dated: January 15, 2014.

    By the Board,
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-01130 Filed 1-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P