[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52804-52805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20972]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1121X; Docket No. AB 733X]


Coltsville Terminal Company, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Berkshire County, Mass.; Housatonic Railroad Company, Inc.--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Berkshire County, Mass.

    Coltsville Terminal Company, Inc. (CTC) and Housatonic Railroad

[[Page 52805]]

Company, Inc. (HRRC) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for CTC to abandon, and for 
HRRC to discontinue service over, 1.91 miles of rail line between 
milepost QBY-0.59 and milepost QBY-2.50 in the City of Pittsfield, 
Berkshire County, Mass. (the Line). The Line traverses United States 
Postal Service Zip Code 01201.
    Applicants have 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; (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 a 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 these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or discontinuance 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, these exemptions will be 
effective on October 4, 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 
September 15, 2014. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 24, 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 
applicants' representative: John D. Heffner, Strasburger & Price, LLP, 
1025 Connecticut Avenue NW., Suite 717, Washington, DC 20036.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have filed a combined environmental and historic report 
that addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and 
discontinuance on the environment and historic resources. OEA will 
issue an environmental assessment (EA) by September 9, 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), CTC 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 CTC's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 4, 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: August 28, 2014.
    By the Board, Joseph Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-20972 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P