Maine Central Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Me.; Springfield Terminal Railway Company-Discontinuance of Service Exemption-in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Me.

Citation86 FR 37204
Record Number2021-14912
Published date14 July 2021
SectionNotices
CourtSurface Transportation Board
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 132 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 14, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 37204-37205]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-14912]
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                SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
                [Docket No. AB 83 (Sub-No. 17X); Docket No. AB 355 (Sub-No. 44X)]
                Maine Central Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in
                Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Me.; Springfield Terminal Railway
                Company--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Kennebec and Somerset
                Counties, Me.
                 Maine Central Railroad Company (MEC) and Springfield Terminal
                Railway Company (ST) (collectively, Applicants), have jointly filed a
                verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt
                Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for MEC to abandon, and ST
                to discontinue service over, an approximately 32.46-mile rail line
                known as the Madison Branch, between milepost 0.00 and milepost 32.46,
                in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Me. (the Line). The Line traverses
                U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 04963, 04901, 04957, 04950, 04911, and
                04958.
                 Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over
                the Line for at least two years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on
                the Line; (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
                [[Page 37205]]
                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 13, 2021, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
                Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues must be
                filed by July 23, 2021.\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 26, 2021.\3\ Petitions to
                reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must
                be filed by August 3, 2021.
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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 83 (Sub-No. 17X) and AB
                355 (Sub-No. 44), 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 Applicants' representative, Robert B. Burns,
                Pan Am Railways, 1700 Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA 01862. If
                the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the
                exemption is 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 19, 2021. The Draft EA will
                be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing
                to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. 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), MEC 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 MEC's filing of a notice
                of consummation by July 14, 2022, 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 8, 2021.
                 By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
                Proceedings.
                Brendetta Jones,
                Clearance Clerk.
                [FR Doc. 2021-14912 Filed 7-13-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
                

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