[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18056-18057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06592]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 338X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Salt 
Lake County, Utah

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a 0.5-mile portion of a rail line known as the SLC Passenger 
Line, from milepost 743.7 to milepost 744.2 in Salt Lake City, Salt 
Lake County, Utah (the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service 
Zip Code 84101.
    UP certifies that: (1) No local or overhead traffic has moved over 
the Line for at least two years; (2) no traffic would need to be 
rerouted; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on 
the Line (or by state or local government on behalf of such user) 
regarding cessation of service over the Line either is pending with the 
Surface Transportation Board (Board) or has been decided in favor of a 
complainant within the two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 
CFR 1105.7(b) and 1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic 
reports), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to government 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 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,\1\ this exemption will be 
effective on April 28, 2022, 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), and 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by April 8, 2022.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 18, 2022.
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    \1\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA must first file a 
formal expression of intent to file an offer, indicating the type of 
financial assistance they wish to provide (i.e., subsidy or 
purchase) and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially 
responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
    \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\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at 
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
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    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 338X), should 
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the 
Board's website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on 
UP's representative, Whitney C. Larkin, General Attorney, Union Pacific 
Railroad Company, 1400 Douglas Street/MS 1580, Omaha, NE 68179.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    UP has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the 
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft 
Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) by April 1, 2022. The Draft EA will 
be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing 
to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. Assistance for the hearing 
impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339. Comments on environmental or historic preservation matters must 
be filed within 15 days after the Draft 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), UP 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 UP's filing of a notice of consummation by March 
29, 2023, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to 
consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.


[[Page 18057]]


    Decided: March 24, 2022.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Stefan Rice,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-06592 Filed 3-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P