West Belt Railway LLC-Discontinuance of Service Exemption-in St. Louis County, Mo.

• Published date: 24 August 2021
• Record Number: 2021-18154
• Section: Notices
• Court: Surface Transportation Board

Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 47364-47365]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-18154]
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                SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
                [Docket No. AB 1318X)]
                West Belt Railway LLC--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in
                St. Louis County, Mo.
                 West Belt Railway LLC (WBRY) has filed a verified notice of
                exemption under 49 C.FR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and
                Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over an approximately
                0.1-mile segment of rail line between milepost 0.7 (near Bodine
                Industrial Drive crossing) and milepost 0.8 (the end of the line) in
                St. Louis County, Mo. (the Line).\1\ The Line traverses U.S. Postal
                Service Zip Code 63114.
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                 \1\ Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, which, according
                to WBRY, leases the Line to WBRY, has filed a verified notice of
                exemption to abandon the Line. See Terminal R.R. Ass'n of St.
                Louis--Aban. Exemption--in St. Louis Cnty., Mo., AB 122 (Sub-No. 2X)
                (STB served Aug. 16, 2021) (86 FR 45,796).
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                 WBRY has certified that: (1) It has moved no local traffic over the
                Line in at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic can be rerouted;
                (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Line (or
                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 or any U.S. District Court or has been
                decided in favor of a complainant within the two-year period; and (4)
                the requirements at 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 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) \2\ to subsidize continued rail service has
                been received, this exemption will be effective on September 23, 2021,
                unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not
                involve
                [[Page 47365]]
                environmental issues and formal expressions of intent to file an OFA to
                subsidize continued rail service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) \3\ must be
                filed by September 3, 2021.\4\ Petitions for reconsideration must be
                filed by September 13, 2021.
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                 \2\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA to subsidize
                continued rail service must first file a formal expression of intent
                to file an offer, indicating the intent to file an OFA for subsidy
                and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially
                responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
                 \3\ The filing fee for OFAs can be found at 49 CFR
                1002.2(f)(25).
                 \4\ Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and not an
                abandonment, interim trail use/rail banking and public use
                conditions are not appropriate. Because there will be an
                environmental review during abandonment, this discontinuance does
                not require environmental review.
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                 All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 1318X, should be filed
                with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's
                website. A copy of any petition filed with Board should be sent to
                WBRY's representative, Audrey Lane Brodrick, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29
                North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
                 If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
                the exemption is void ab initio.
                 Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.
                 Decided: August 17, 2021.
                 By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
                Proceedings.
                Kenyatta Clay,
                Clearance Clerk.
                [FR Doc. 2021-18154 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4915-01-P