[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50434-50435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21545]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 497 (Sub-No. 7X)]


Minnesota Northern Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Norman and Polk Counties, MN

    Minnesota Northern Railroad, Inc. (MNN) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon 
approximately 5.8 miles of its ``P Line'' Subdivision between milepost 
40.2 at the north end of the Marsh River Bridge, near Shelly, MN, and 
milepost 46.0 at Second Street in Nielsville, MN, in Norman and Polk 
Counties, MN (the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Codes 56561, 56568, and 56581.
    MNN has certified that: (1) No local freight traffic has moved over 
the Line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over 
the Line for at least two years; (3) no formal complaint filed by a 
user of rail service on the line (or a state or local government acting 
on behalf of any such user) regarding cessation of service over the 
line either is pending before the Surface Transportation Board or any 
U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of the 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

[[Page 50435]]

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) \1\ has been received, this exemption will 
be effective on November 5, 2018, unless stayed pending 
reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental 
issues,\2\ formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 
1152.29 must be filed by October 15, 2018. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by October 25, 2018, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \1\ The Board modified its OFA procedures effective July 29, 
2017. Among other things, the OFA process now requires potential 
offerors, in their formal expression of intent, to make a 
preliminary financial responsibility showing based on a calculation 
using information contained in the carrier's filing and publicly 
available information. See Offers of Financial Assistance, EP 729 
(STB served June 29, 2017); 82 FR 30,997 (July 5, 2017).
    \2\ 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.
    \3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,800. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. 
Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.--2017 
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. B at 13 (STB served 
August 8, 2018).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to MNN's 
representative, Thomas F. McFarland, Thomas F. McFarland, P.C., 208 
South La Salle Street, Suite 1666, Chicago, IL 60604-1228.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    MNN 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 October 12, 2018. 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), MNN 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 MNN's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 5, 2019, 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 website at 
www.stb.gov.

    Decided: September 28, 2018.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018-21545 Filed 10-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P