[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 162 (Friday, August 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 50922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20718]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 603 (Sub-No. 4X)]


V and S Railway, LLC--Abandonment Exemption--in Pueblo, Crowley, 
and Kiowa Counties, Colo.

    V and S Railway, LLC (V&S) has filed a verified notice of exemption 
under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a line 
of railroad extending between milepost 747.5 near Towner and milepost 
869.4 near NA Junction, a distance of 121.9 miles in Pueblo, Crowley, 
and Kiowa Counties, Colo. (the Towner Line). The Towner Line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Codes 81022, 80125, 81062, 81033, 
81063, 81076, 81021, 81045, 81036, and 81071.
    V&S has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
Towner Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the 
Towner Line can be rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint 
filed by a user of rail service on the Towner Line (or by a state or 
local government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding 
cessation of service over the Towner Line 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; 
\1\ 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 government agencies) 
have been met.
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    \1\ In Docket No. NOR 42140, the Colorado Wheat Administrative 
Committee, the Colorado Association of Wheat Growers, the Colorado 
Wheat Research Foundation, and KCVN, LLC (collectively, the Colorado 
Interests) filed a complaint alleging that V&S has violated 49 
U.S.C. 11101 and 10903 by removing certain track and related assets 
from a segment of the Towner Line over which the Board had 
previously permitted V&S to discontinue service. See V&S Ry.--
Discontinuance of Serv. Exemption--in Pueblo, Crowley, & Kiowa 
Cntys., Colo., AB 603 (Sub-No. 2X) (STB served June 28, 2012). This 
segment of the Towner Line, known as the Western Segment, extends 
between milepost 808.3 near Haswell, Colo., and milepost 868.5. The 
Board granted the joint petition of V&S and the Colorado Interests 
asking that the agency stay that complaint proceeding so that V&S 
could file for the abandonment exemption it seeks here. See Colo. 
Wheat Admin. Comm. v. V&S Ry., NOR 42140 (STB served July 17, 2015). 
Based on these facts, the certification is accurate.
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    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 September 20, 2015, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\2\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by August 31, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 10, 
2015, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \2\ 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.
    \3\ 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 
applicant'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.
    V&S 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 August 28, 2015. 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), V&S shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the Towner Line. If 
consummation has not been effected by filing of a notice of 
consummation by August 21, 2016, 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 18, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-20718 Filed 8-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P