Cattaraugus Local Development Corp.-Abandonment Exemption-in Cattaraugus County, N.Y.
| Citation | 85 FR 82027 |
| Record Number | 2020-27718 |
| Published date | 17 December 2020 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Surface Transportation Board |
82027
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Notices
1
CLDC originally submitted a petition for
declaratory order on March 4, 2020, requesting that
the Board declare that the Line has been abandoned
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502, or, in the alternative,
that CLDC may satisfy the requirements for an
exempt abandonment pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502.
By decision served on August 5, 2020, the Board
docketed CLDC’s petition under Docket No. AB
1300X for consideration under the Board’s
abandonment exemption procedures. Cattaraugus
Local Dev. Corp.—Pet. for Declaratory Order, FD
36389, et al. (STB served Aug. 5, 2020). However,
because CLDC had not obtained Board authority
when it acquired the Line in 2000, the
abandonment proceeding was held in abeyance to
permit CLDC to seek authority after-the-fact for the
acquisition. Id. at 3. CLDC did so, and the
acquisition exemption became effective on October
8, 2020. See Cattaraugus Local Dev. Corp.—Acquis.
Exemption—Rail Line in Cattaraugus Cnty., N.Y.,
FD 36435 (STB served Sept. 24, 2020). In this
abandonment docket, CLDC filed its environmental
and historic report in on November 16, 2020, and
a supplemental certificate of service on November
27, 2020. By publication of this notice, the
abandonment proceeding is removed from
abeyance, and the petition for exemption is deemed
to have been filed on November 27, 2020.
2
In the acquisition docket, CLDC noted that
milepost 414.1 is the closest mile marker to the
southern boundary of the Line but ‘‘the actual
[m]ilepost, if it existed,’’ would be milepost 414.36.
CLDC Suppl., Sept. 8, 2020, Cattaraugus Local Dev.
Corp.—Acquis. Exemption—Rail Line in
Cattaraugus Cnty., N.Y., FD 36435.
3
CLDC states that the Line has not been
operational since at least 2000. (CLDC Pet. 5–6.)
4
Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can
be found at 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27),
respectively.
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1300X]
Cattaraugus Local Development
Corp.—Abandonment Exemption—in
Cattaraugus County, N.Y.
Cattaraugus Local Development Corp.
(CLDC) has filed with the Surface
Transportation Board (Board) a petition
under 49 CFR 10502 for exemption from
the prior approval requirements of 49
U.S.C. 10903 to abandon
1
approximately 12.14 miles of rail line
extending from milepost 426.5, in the
Town of New Albion, to the city line of
the City of Salamanca in the Town of
Salamanca, which is near milepost
414.1,
2
in Cattaraugus County, N.Y. (the
Line).
3
CLDC states that, based on
information in its possession, the Line
does not contain federally granted
rights-of-way. Any documentation in
CLDC’s possession will be made
available promptly to those requesting
it.
The interest of railroad employees
will be protected by the conditions set
forth in Oregon Short Line Railroad—
Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch
Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham &
Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C.
91 (1979).
By issuing this notice, the Board is
instituting an exemption proceeding
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502(b). A final
decision will be issued by March 17,
2021.
Any offer of financial assistance
(OFA) under 49 CFR 1152.27(b)(2) will
be due no later than 120 days after the
filing of the petition for exemption, or
10 days after service of a decision
granting the petition for exemption,
whichever occurs sooner. Persons
interested in submitting an OFA must
first file a formal expression of intent to
file an offer by December 28, 2020,
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)(1)(i).
Following abandonment, the Line
may be suitable for other public use,
including interim trail use. Any request
for a public use condition under 49 CFR
1152.28 or for interim trail use/rail
banking under 49 CFR 1152.29 will be
due no later than January 6, 2021.
4
All pleadings, referring to Docket No.
AB 1300X, 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 CLDC’s representative,
Robert J. McLaughlin, McLaughlin Law,
P.C., 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany,
NY 12207. Replies to the petition are
due on or before January 6, 2021.
Persons seeking further information
concerning abandonment procedures
may contact the Board’s Office of Public
Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and
Compliance at (202) 245–0238 or refer
to the full abandonment regulations at
49 CFR part 1152. Questions concerning
environmental issues may be directed to
the Board’s Office of Environmental
Analysis (OEA) at (202) 245–0305.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is
available through the Federal Relay
Service at (800) 877–8339.
An environmental assessment (EA) (or
environmental impact statement (EIS), if
necessary) prepared by OEA will be
served upon all parties of record and
upon any other agencies or persons who
comment during its preparation. Other
interested persons may contact OEA to
obtain a copy of the EA (or EIS). EAs in
abandonment proceedings normally will
be made available within 60 days of the
filing of the petition. The deadline for
submission of comments on the EA
generally will be within 30 days of its
service.
Board decisions and notices are
available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: December 11, 2020.
By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director,
Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020–27718 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket Number FRA–2020–0093]
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Under part 211 of title 49 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), this
document provides the public notice
that on December 2, 2020, the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
and Trainmen (BLET) and the
Transportation Division of the
International Association of Sheet
Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation
Workers (SMART TD) petitioned the
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
for a waiver of compliance from certain
provisions of the Federal railroad safety
regulations contained at 49 CFR parts
240 and 242. FRA assigned the petition
Docket Number FRA–2020–0093.
Paragraphs (c) and (d) of § 240.403
require petitions seeking review of a
railroad’s decision to deny or revoke a
locomotive engineer’s certification or
recertification to be filed with FRA no
more than 180 or 120 days, respectively,
after the date of a railroad’s decision.
Paragraph (c) of § 242.503 requires
petitions seeking review of a railroad’s
decision to revoke a conductor’s
certification to be filed with FRA no
more than 120 days after a railroad’s
decision. Due to the coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID–19) public health
emergency, FRA granted relief by letter
dated April 7, 2020, and renewed that
relief on June 3, 2020, July 30, 2020, and
September 24, 2020. BLET and SMART
TD once again request to renew this
emergency relief. In light of the
continued renewal requests, FRA now
considers whether longer-term relief is
necessary.
In support of their initial March 30,
2020, request for relief, petitioners
noted FRA’s March 25, 2020, waiver
from certain requirements of 49 CFR
parts 240 and 242 related to deadlines
for responding to petitions submitted to
FRA’s Operating Crew Review Board
granted to the Association of American
Railroads, the American Short Line and
Regional Railroad Association, and the
American Public Transportation
Association (together referred to as the
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