[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 207 (Tuesday, October 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65850-65851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27282]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 303 (Sub-No. 47X)]


Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Abandonment Exemption--in Lincoln County, 
Wis.

    Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian 
National Railway Company has filed a verified notice of exemption under 
49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon approximately 
0.49 miles of railroad line (the Line). The Line extends between 
mileposts 132.89 and 133.38, in Tomahawk, Lincoln County, Wis., and 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 54487.
    WCL has 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 that would have to be 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 
become effective on November 26, 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 interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 
CFR 1152.29 must be filed by November 6, 2015. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by November 16, 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 WCL's 
representative: Audrey L. Brodrick, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 N. Wacker 
Dr., Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    WCL has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the

[[Page 65851]]

abandonment on the environment and historic resources. OEA will issue 
an environmental assessment (EA) by October 30, 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 interim 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), WCL 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 WCL's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 27, 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: October 22, 2015.
    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of Proceedings.

Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-27282 Filed 10-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P