[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 59 (Thursday, March 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17233-17234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06774]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 414 (Sub-No. 7X)]


Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd.--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Pottawattamie County, Iowa

    Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd. (IAIS) has filed a verified notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a line of railroad extending from milepost 467.77 near Hancock 
Junction, Iowa, to the end of the track at milepost 469.59 near 
Oakland, Iowa, a distance of approximately 1.82 miles in Pottawattamie 
County, Iowa. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 
51560.
    IAIS has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic could be or was 
previously handled on the stub-ended line; (3) no formal complaint by a 
user of rail service on the line (or 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 during the last two years; 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 April 26, 2014, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\

[[Page 17234]]

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 7, 2014. Petitions to reopen or requests 
for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 
16, 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 
IAIS's representative: Thomas J. Litwiler, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 
North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606-2832.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    IAIS 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 1, 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 (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), IAIS 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 IAIS's filing of a notice of 
consummation by March 27, 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.

    Decided: March 24, 2014.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-06774 Filed 3-26-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P