[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41158-41159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14711]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 807X); Docket No. AB 364 (Sub-No. 17X)]


CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Muskegon 
County, Mich.; Michigan Shore Railroad Division, Mid-Michigan Railroad, 
Inc.--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Muskegon County, Mich.

    CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), and Michigan Shore Railroad 
division, Mid-Michigan Railroad, Inc. (MMRR) (collectively, 
Applicants), have jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 
CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments & Discontinuances of 
Service for CSXT to

[[Page 41159]]

abandon, and MMRR to discontinue service over, an approximately 3.81-
mile rail line that runs between milepost CGCS 56.35 and milepost CGCS 
60.16 on the South Horn Spur in Muskegon County, Mich. (the Line). CSXT 
is the owner of the Line, and MMRR is the lessee of the Line. The Line 
traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Code 49441.
    Applicants have certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over 
the Line for at least two years; (2) as the Line is not a through line, 
no overhead traffic has moved over the Line and therefore no traffic 
needs to be rerouted; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail 
service on the Line (or by a state or local government entity acting on 
behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line 
either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with 
any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant 
within the two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 
and 1105.8 (notice of environmental and historic report), 49 CFR 
1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to 
governmental agencies) have been met.
    As a condition to these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment and discontinuance of service 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\ the exemptions will be 
effective on August 10, 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 July 21, 2022.\3\ Petitions to reopen and requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by August 1, 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 exemptions' 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 exemptions' 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 Nos. AB 55 (Sub-No. 807X) and AB 
364 (Sub-No. 17X), must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board 
via e-filing on the Board's website or in writing addressed to 395 E 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each 
pleading must be served on CSXT's representative, Louis E. Gitomer, Law 
Offices of Louis E. Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, 
Towson, MD 21204, and MMRR's representative, Eric M. Hocky, Clark Hill 
PLC, 2001 Market Street, Suite 2610, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have 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 July 15, 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 and historic preservation matters must 
be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes available to the 
public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or interim 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), CSXT shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the abandonment authority granted and fully abandoned the 
Line. If consummation has not been effected by CSXT's filing of a 
notice of consummation by July 11, 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.

    Decided: July 6, 2022.

    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-14711 Filed 7-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P