Ouachita Railroad, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Union County, Ark., and Union Parish, La., 2480-2481 [2015-00595]

Agencies

• Surface Transportation Board
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2480-2481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00595]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 1122X]


Ouachita Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Union County, 
Ark., and Union Parish, La.

    Ouachita Railroad, Inc. (Ouachita) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon an approximately 13.4-mile line of railroad between milepost 
112, near Junction City, in Union County, Ark., and milepost 125.4, 
near Lillie, in Union Parish, La. (the Line). The Line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 71749 and 71256.
    Ouachita has certified that (1) no local traffic has moved over the 
Line for at least two years; (2) the line is stub-ended and not capable 
of handling overhead traffic; (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 is pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with 
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 
1105.7(c) (environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 
49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) 
(notice to governmental agencies) have been met.

[[Page 2481]]

    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, this exemption will be 
effective on February 18, 2015, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by January 26, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 5, 2015, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \1\ 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.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
Ouachita's representative: Richard H. Streeter, 5255 Partridge Lane 
NW., Washington, DC 20016.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Ouachita has filed a combined environmental and historic report 
that addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the 
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by January 23, 2015. Interested persons may obtain a 
copy of the EA by writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation 
Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Comments on environmental 
and historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after 
the 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), Ouachita 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 Ouachita's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 16, 2016, and there are no legal or regulatory 
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically 
expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
``www.stb.dot.gov.''

    Decided: January 13, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-00595 Filed 1-15-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P