[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 88 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 37275]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09778]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 350X); Docket No. AB 1338X]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in St. 
Louis County, Mo.; Missouri Eastern Railroad, LLC--Discontinuance of 
Service Exemption--in St. Louis County, Mo.

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and Missouri Eastern Railroad, 
LLC (MER) (collectively, Applicants) have jointly filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for UP to abandon, and for 
MER to discontinue service over, a 0.55-mile portion of the Rock Island 
Old Passenger Main extending from milepost 11.58 to milepost 11.03, 
near Olivette, in St. Louis County, Mo. (the Line). The Line traverses 
U.S. Postal Service Zip Code 63132.
    Applicants have certified that: (1) no local 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, and there is therefore no need to 
reroute any traffic; (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 reports), 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 abandonment or 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\ these exemptions will 
be effective on June 5, 2024, 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/railbanking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by May 16, 2024.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by May 28, 2024.
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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 effective date of the 
exemptions. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 
(1989). Any request to stay should be filed as soon as possible so 
that the Board may take appropriate action before the effective date 
of the exemptions.
    \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 33 (Sub-No. 350X) and AB 
1338X, 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 UP's representative, Christine A. Neuharth, 1400 
Douglas Street, MS 1580, Omaha, NE 68179, and MER's representative, 
Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 
800, Chicago, IL 60606.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are 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 May 10, 2024. 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. If you require an 
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call 
(202) 245-0245. 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), 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 May 6, 
2025, 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: May 1, 2024.

    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2024-09778 Filed 5-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P