[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]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P