[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 28840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08412]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36763]
The Lowville & Beaver River Railroad Company--Acquisition
Exemption--Lewis County Industrial Development Agency
The Lowville & Beaver River Railroad Company (LBRR) has filed a
verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.41 \1\ for
authority after-the-fact to acquire approximately 10.61 miles of rail
line between milepost 0.0 and milepost 10.57 between the Village of
Lowville, N.Y., and the Village of Croghan, N.Y., including a secondary
branch line of 0.4 miles extending towards Beaver Falls, N.Y.,\2\ in
Lewis County, N.Y. (the Line).
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\1\ LBRR states that it is seeking an operation exemption
pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.31. However, because LBRR is already a Class
III carrier, it must seek this authority pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.41.
As such, the notice will be considered filed under 49 CFR 1150.41
instead.
\2\ By decision in The Lowville & Beaver River Railroad Co.--
Abandonment Exemption--in Lewis County, N.Y., AB 180X (STB served
Jan. 22, 2024), the Board directed LBRR to clarify the location of
the 1.15-mile branch line at Beaver Falls that was referenced in
Docket No. FD 31825. Specifically, the Board directed LBRR to
clarify whether that line is the same one as the 0.40-mile rail line
shown on the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) Safety Map that
branches off from the Lowville-Croghan Line at Deveines Road,
extends northward over a bridge on the Beaver River, and then
terminates in Beaver Falls. In a supplemental environmental and
historic report filed in that docket, LBRR refers to the line shown
on the FRA Safety Map as the ``Beaver Falls Branch.'' Although LBRR
does not explain the reference in Docket No. FD 31825 to the 1.15-
mile branch line, the Board presumes that the lines are the same.
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According to LBRR, it had been leasing the Line from the Lewis
County Industrial Development Agency (LCID) since 1991 but the lease
expired on December 31, 2015. LBRR states that the terms of the lease
gave LCID authority to convey title to the Line to LBRR upon expiration
of the lease, and when the parties were unable to reach an agreement to
extend the lease, a deed was recorded conveying title of the Line to
LBRR in July 2016. LBRR now seeks after-the-fact Board authorization
for its 2016 acquisition. LBRR states that it intends to abandon the
Line and to sell it to Lewis County, which intends to build a
recreational trail on the right of way.\3\
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\3\ On September 11, 2023, the Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern
Railroad Corporation filed a verified notice of exemption to abandon
a connected line, the Lowville-Carthage Line, as well as a separate
segment, the Lyons Falls Track, in Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern
Railroad Corp.--Abandonment Exemption--in Lewis & Jefferson
Counties, N.Y., AB 768X. The next day, LBRR filed a verified notice
of exemption to abandon the Line in The Lowville & Beaver River
Railroad--Abandonment Exemption--in Lewis County, N.Y., AB 180X. By
decision served on January 22, 2024, those dockets were held in
abeyance and the carriers were directed to take certain actions, one
of which was for LBRR to seek after-the-fact authority to acquire
the Line. The issuance of this notice does not alter the status of
either of those abandonment proceedings; both abandonment dockets
remain in abeyance pending further Board order in those dockets.
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LBRR certifies that it will not be subject to any limitations on
its ability to interchange with a third-party connecting carrier. LBRR
also certifies that its projected annual revenues are not expected to
exceed $5 million and that the proposed transaction will not result in
LBRR's becoming a Class I or Class II rail carrier.
The effective date of this exemption will be May 4, 2024 (30 days
after the verified notice was filed).
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption
under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a
petition to revoke will not automatically stay the effectiveness of the
exemption. Petitions for stay must be filed no later than April 26,
2024 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36763, must be filed with
the Surface Transportation Board either 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
LBRR's representative, John K. Fiorilla, Esq., Dyer & Peterson PC, 605
Main Street, Suite 104, Riverton, NJ 08077-1440.
According to LBRR, this action is categorically excluded from
environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from historic
preservation reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b).
Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: April 15, 2024.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, Oberman, Primus, and
Schultz.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2024-08412 Filed 4-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P