Wisconsin Central Ltd.-Discontinuance of Service Exemption-in Rusk and Price Counties, Wis.

• Published date: 10 January 2020
• Citation: 85 FR 1370
• Record Number: 2020-00227
• Section: Notices
• Court: Surface Transportation Board

Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 7 (Friday, January 10, 2020)

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2020)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 1370-1371]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-00227]
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                SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
                [Docket No. AB 303 (Sub-No. 54X)]
                Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in
                Rusk and Price Counties, Wis.
                 Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL) has filed a verified notice of
                exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and
                Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over an approximately
                32-mile rail line between milepost 137.00 at Tony in Dewey Township,
                Rusk County, Wis., and milepost 169.00 at Prentice in the Town of
                Prentice, Price County, Wis. (the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal
                Service ZIP Codes 54563, 54526, 54530, 54537, 54515, and 54556.
                 WCL has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
                Line for two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the Line can be
                rerouted over other lines; (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 1105.12 (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
                [[Page 1371]]
                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) \1\ to subsidize continued rail service has
                been received, this exemption will be effective on February 9, 2020,
                unless stayed pending reconsideration.\2\ Petitions to stay that do not
                involve environmental issues must be filed by January 17, 2020, 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 January 21,
                2020.\4\ Petitions for reconsideration must be filed by January 30,
                2020, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW,
                Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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                 \1\ 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).
                 \2\ WCL supplemented its verified notice on December 23, 2019,
                which will be considered the filing date for the purpose of
                calculating the effective date of the exemption.
                 \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, 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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                 A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to WCL's
                representative, Bradon J. Smith, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 N 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: January 6, 2020.
                 By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
                Tammy Lowery,
                Clearance Clerk.
                [FR Doc. 2020-00227 Filed 1-9-20; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4915-01-P