[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 199 (Friday, October 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71159-71160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24886]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 57 (Sub-No. 64X)]


Soo Line Railroad Company--Abandonment of Trackage Located in 
Burleigh County, N.D.

    Soo Line Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian Pacific (Soo Line) has 
filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--
Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 0.9-mile line of railroad between 
milepost 417.99 +/- and milepost 418.89 +/- in Burleigh County, N.D. 
(Line). The Line traverses United States Postal Zip Codes 58501 and 
58504.
    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 a State or local government entity 
acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the 
Line either is pending with the Board or any U.S. District Court or has 
been decided in favor of a 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

[[Page 71160]]

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 November 15, 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 
October 24, 2016. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 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 $1,700. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. 
Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.--2016 
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 24) (STB served Aug. 2, 2016).
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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, MN 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 October 
21, 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 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 October 14, 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.GOV.''

    Decided: October 11, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-24886 Filed 10-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P