[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 177 (Monday, September 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 55173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23047]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 57 (Sub-No. 62X]


Soo Line Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Hennepin 
County, Minn.

    Soo Line Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian Pacific (Soo Line) has 
filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F-Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon a 0.4-mile line of railroad between milepost 
0.59 +/- (approximately 100 feet southeast of the bridge that crosses 
Interstate 94) and milepost 0.99 +/- at or near Essex Street, SE. (East 
side spur) in Hennepin County, Minn. (the Line). The Line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Code 55414.
    Soo Line has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over 
the Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic can be and 
has been rerouted over other lines; (3) 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; 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 October 14, 2015, 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 24, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 5, 2015, 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 Soo 
Line's representative: W. Karl Hansen, Stinson Leonard Street LLP, 150 
South Fifth Street, Suite 2300, Minneapolis, Minn. 55402.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Soo Line 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 September 
18, 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 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), Soo Line 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 Soo Line's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 14, 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: September 9, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-23047 Filed 9-11-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P