[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 89 (Friday, May 9, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19775-19776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-08182]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 534 (Sub-No. 4X)]
Lake State Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Saginaw
County, Michigan
Lake State Railway Company (LSRC) has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon approximately 6,805 feet of rail line extending from Sta. 9+00
approximately 270 feet northeast of the intersection of Carrollton Road
and Ellsworth Road to the end of line at Sta. 77+05 approximately 1,000
feet southwest of the North Niagara Street at-grade railroad crossing
of the Huron & Eastern Railway Company, in Saginaw County, Mich. (the
Line).\1\ The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 48604 and
48602.
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\1\ The verified notice states that LSRC is a Class III rail
carrier that owns or operates approximately 350 miles of rail line
in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. See, e.g., Lake State Ry.--Lease
& Operation Exemption--Detroit & Mackinac Ry., FD 32012 (ICC served
Feb. 27, 1992). LSRC also states that it leases and operates
approximately four miles of track in Port Huron, Mich., which is
disconnected from the remainder of its rail system. See Lake State
Ry.--Lease Exemption--Line of Grand Trunk W. R.R., FD 36179 (STB
served May 25, 2018).
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LSRC has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the
Line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic could be or was
previously handled on the stub-ended Line; (3) no formal complaint
filed by a user of rail service on the Line (or by a state or local
government on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over
the Line is pending with either the Surface Transportation Board
(Board) or any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a
complainant within the past two years; 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,\2\ this exemption will be
effective on June 8, 2025, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ 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 19, 2025.\4\ Petitions to reopen and requests for public
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed May 29, 2025.
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\2\ 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).
\3\ 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.
\4\ 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 534 (Sub-No. 4X), must be
filed with the Surface Transportation Board either
[[Page 19776]]
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 LSRC's representative, Thomas J. Litwiler,
Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Dr., Suite 800, Chicago, IL
60606-3208.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
LSRC 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 16, 2025. 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 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/
railbanking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a
subsequent decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), LSRC 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 LSRC's filing of a notice of
consummation by May 9, 2026, 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 6, 2025.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-08182 Filed 5-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P