[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 189 (Friday, September 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49151-49152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21161]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1261]
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation--Adverse
Abandonment--Saratoga and North Creek Railway in Town of Johnsburg, NY
On September 10, 2018, the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (the Department) filed an application under
49 U.S.C. 10903 requesting that the Surface Transportation Board (the
Board) authorize the third-party, or adverse, abandonment of Saratoga
and North Creek Railway (SNCR) over approximately 29.71 miles of rail
line extending between milepost NC 0.0 at North Creek, NY, and its
terminus at milepost NC 29.71 near the former Tahawus Mine (Tahawus
Line or the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip
Codes 12842, 12843, 12851, 12852, 12853, and 12857.
According to the Department, the Line was built by the United
States during the Second World War to facilitate the transportation of
strategic materials from a former mine owned and operated by NL
Industries. In 2012, SNCR obtained Board authority to operate over the
Tahawus Line, which it had purchased from NL Industries the year
[[Page 49152]]
before. See Saratoga & N. Creek Ry.--Operation Exemption--Tahawus Line,
FD 35631 (STB served June 1, 2012). According to the Department, since
obtaining Board authority, SNCR has moved at most a few carloads of
industrial garnet as well as carloads of ballast purchased by SNCR for
its own use. The Department further claims that there is currently no
freight service on the Line and there are only two potential shippers.
The Department states that SNCR has resorted to using the right-of-way,
which runs through the state-owned Forest Preserve within New York's
Adirondack Park, as a storage facility for obsolete railcars. The
Department states that it is seeking an adverse abandonment to protect
the Forest Preserve.
In a decision served on February 27, 2018, the Department was
granted exemptions from several statutory provisions as well as waivers
of certain Board regulations that were not relevant to its adverse
discontinuance application or that sought information not available to
the Department.
According to the Department, there is no documentation in its
possession that indicates that the Line contains federally granted
rights-of-way. Any documentation in the Department's possession will be
made available promptly to those requesting it. The Department's entire
case-in-chief for adverse abandonment was filed with the application.
The Department states that the interests of railroad employees will
be protected by the conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line
Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in
Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979).
Any interested person may file written comments concerning the
proposed adverse abandonment or protests (including protestant's entire
opposition case) by October 25, 2018. Persons who may oppose the
proposed adverse abandonment but who do not wish to participate fully
in the process by submitting verified statements of witnesses
containing detailed evidence should file comments. Persons opposing the
proposed adverse abandonment who wish to participate actively and fully
in the process should file a protest, observing the filing, service,
and content requirements of 49 CFR 1152.25. The Department's reply is
due by November 9, 2018.
All filings in response to this notice must refer to Docket No. AB
1261 and must be sent to: (1) Surface Transportation Board, 395 E
Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001; and (2) Joshua M. Tallent, New
York State Office of the Attorney General, Environmental Protection
Bureau, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341.
Any request for an interim trail use/railbanking condition under 16
U.S.C. 1247(d) and 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by October 25, 2018,
and should address whether the issuance of a certificate of interim
trail use in this case would be consistent with the grant of an adverse
abandonment application. Each trail use request must be accompanied by
a $300 filing fee. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(27).
Filings may be submitted either via the Board's e-filing format or
in the traditional paper format. Any person using e-filing should
comply with the instructions found on the Board's ``www.stb.gov''
website, at the ``E-FILING'' link. Any person submitting a filing in
the traditional paper format should send the original and 10 copies of
the filing to the Board with a certificate of service. Except as
otherwise set forth in 49 CFR pt.1152, every document filed with the
Board must be served on all parties to this adverse abandonment
proceeding. 49 CFR 1104.12(a).
An environmental assessment (EA) (or environmental impact statement
(EIS), if necessary) prepared by the Board's Office of Environmental
Analysis (OEA) will be served upon all parties of record and upon any
agencies or other persons who commented during its preparation. Any
other persons who would like to obtain a copy of the EA (or EIS) may
contact OEA by phone at the number listed below. EAs in these
abandonment proceedings normally will be made available within 33 days
of the filing of the application. The deadline for submission of
comments on the EA will generally be within 30 days of its service. The
comments received will be addressed in the Board's decision. A
supplemental EA or EIS may be issued where appropriate.
Persons seeking further information concerning abandonment
procedures may contact the Board's Office of Public Assistance,
Governmental Affairs, and Compliance at (202) 245-0238 or refer to the
full abandonment regulations at 49 CFR pt. 1152. Assistance for the
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Board decisions and notices are available on our website at
www.stb.gov.
Decided: September 25, 2018.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Aretha Laws-Byrum,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018-21161 Filed 9-27-18; 8:45 am]
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