[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 62967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21986]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 385X); Docket No. AB 1246X]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Grand Elk Railroad, L.L.C.--Discontinuance 
Exemption--in Kalamazoo, Mich.

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) and Grand Elk Railroad, 
L.L.C. (GDLK) (collectively, applicants), have jointly filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152, subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for NSR to abandon, and for 
GDLK to discontinue service over, an approximately 0.1-mile rail line, 
between mileposts IJ 44.6 and IJ 44.7, in Kalamazoo, Mich. (the Line). 
The Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 49007 and 
49001.
    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 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 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 13, 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 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
September 23, 2016. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 3, 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 
applicant's representative: William A. Mullins, Baker & Miller PLLC, 
2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037.
    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 16, 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 (FIRS) at 1-
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), NSR 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 NSR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 13, 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: September 8, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-21986 Filed 9-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P