[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17650-17651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06919]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1115X]


Nebraska Central Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Merrick County, Neb.

    Nebraska Central Railroad Company (NCRC) has filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon the 1.81-mile rail line located between 
milepost 17.5, near Central City, and milepost 19.31, in Central City, 
Merrick County, Neb. The line traverses United States Postal Service 
Zip Code 68826.
    NCRC has certified that: (1) No local traffic has been handled to 
or from any customer over the line for at least two years; (2) no 
overhead traffic has been handled on the line for at least two years; 
(3) no formal complaint filed 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 before 
the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or any U.S. District Court or 
has been decided in favor of the 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 April 29, 2014, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do

[[Page 17651]]

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 April 7, 2014. Petitions 
to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 
must be filed by April 17, 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 
NCRC's representative: Karl Morell, Ball Janik LLP, 655 Fifteenth 
Street NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NCRC has filed environmental and historic reports that address the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic 
resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by April 4, 
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 (FIRS) 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), NCRC 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 NCRC's filing of a notice of 
consummation by March 28, 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.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-06919 Filed 3-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P