[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 167 (Monday, August 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59265-59266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20645]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 329X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Pima 
County, Ariz.

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon the remaining 1.6 miles of the Tucson South Main railroad line 
in Pima County, Ariz. (the Line). The Line extends between milepost 
984.7 and milepost 986.3 in South Tucson, and traverses United States 
Postal Service Zip Codes 85701 and 85713.
    UP states that the property underlying the Line is the subject of a 
state court condemnation action by Pima County. Pima Cty. v. Union Pac. 
R.R., No. CV2015-010983 (Super. Ct. Maricopa Cty. filed July 9, 2015). 
UP states that it has reached an agreement with Pima County whereby 
Pima County will acquire the property pursuant to its condemnation 
authority following consummation of the abandonment.
    UP 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; 
(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 is pending either 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 September 28, 2016, 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 September 8, 2016. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by September 19, 2016, 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 UP's 
representative: Jeremy M. Berman, 1400 Douglas St., #1580, Omaha, NE 
68179.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    UP 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 September 2, 2016. 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), UP 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

[[Page 59266]]

UP's filing of a notice of consummation by August 29, 2017, 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 29, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.

Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-20645 Filed 8-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P