Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, Ontario County Industrial Development Agency, Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency, and Yates County Industrial Development Agency-Acquisition Exemption-Finger Lakes Railway Corp., 18682-18683 [2016-07293]

Download as PDF 18682 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2016 / Notices mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Division, Rockhouse Subdivision, Engineering Appalachian Division, also known as the Montgomery Creek Branch, between milepost 0VL 254.6 and milepost 0VL 255.39 in Perry County, Ky. (the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 41773 and is served by the station at Charlene at milepost 0VL 256.0 (FSAC 42886/OPSL 17352).1 CSXT has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the Line for at least two years; (2) because the Line is not a through route, no overhead traffic has operated, and, therefore, none needs to 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 is pending either 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 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) to subsidize continued rail service has been received, this exemption will be effective on April 30, 2016, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues and formal expressions of intent to file an OFA to subsidize continued rail service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) 2 must be filed by April 8, 2016.3 Petitions to reopen must be filed by April 20, 2016, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423–0001. A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to CSXT’s 1 CSXT states that the station is not located on the Line. 2 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25). 3 Because this is a discontinue 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 an environmental review. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:09 Mar 30, 2016 Jkt 238001 representative: Louis E. Gitomer, Law Offices of Louis E. Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at ‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’ Decided: March 24, 2016. By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. Kenyatta Clay, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2016–07290 Filed 3–30–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD [Docket No. FD 36011] Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, Ontario County Industrial Development Agency, Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency, and Yates County Industrial Development Agency—Acquisition Exemption— Finger Lakes Railway Corp. Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency,1 Ontario County Industrial Development Agency, Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency, and Yates County Industrial Development Agency (collectively, Agencies) have filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire by lease approximately 86.45 miles of rail lines from Finger Lakes Railway Corp. (FGLK), located in New York, as follows: 2 (1) Watkins Glen Industrial Track, located between milepost 41.35 at or near Penn Yan and milepost 16.55 1 According to the notice, Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) is a nonoperating carrier that owns other rail lines not involved in this transaction and the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Corp. currently provides service over these other rail lines. See Onondaga Cty. Indus. Dev. Agency—Acquis. and Operation Exemption—Line of Consolidated Rail Corp., FD 32287 (ICC served July 7, 1994) and New York Susquehanna & W. Ry.—Trackage Rights Exemption—Onondaga Cty. Indus. Dev. Agency, FD 32772 (STB served Aug. 7, 2001). 2 The Agencies and FGLK jointly filed one notice for two related transactions under 49 CFR 1150.31 and 1150.41, one in this docket and one in Docket No. FD 36012, as described further below. A separate notice will be published for each exemption. Further, because OCIDA is a rail carrier, the notice of exemption in this docket will be treated as request for an exemption from 49 U.S.C. 10902 under the regulations at 49 CFR 1150.41 with regard to OCIDA and as a request for an exemption from 49 U.S.C. 10901 under 49 CFR 1150.31 for the four noncarrier Agencies. PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 at or near Watkins Glen, in Schuyler and Yates Counties, a distance of 24.8 miles; (2) Canandaigua Secondary, located between milepost 76.00 at or near Canandaigua and milepost 51.30 at or near Geneva, in Ontario County, a distance of 24.70 miles; (3) Auburn Secondary, located between milepost 37.56 at the Seneca/Cayuga County line and milepost 3.61 at or near Solvay Yard, in Cayuga County, a distance of 33.95 miles; (4) Geneva Running Track, located between milepost 344.40 at or near Geneva and milepost 342.8 at the Ontario/Seneca County line, in Ontario County, a distance of 1.6 miles; (5) Lehigh & Northern Industrial Track, located between milepost 349.20 and milepost 348.70 at or near Auburn, in Cayuga County, a distance of 0.90 miles; and (6) Auburn & Ithaca Industrial Track, located between milepost 349.20 and milepost 348.70 at or near Auburn, in Cayuga County, a distance of 0.50 miles. According to the Agencies, the acquisition of the rail lines is part of a series of proposed transactions that will allow FGLK to continue to pay a negotiated ‘‘payment in lieu of taxes’’ (PILOT), rather than be subject to local and state taxes. The Agencies state that FGLK originally acquired the rail lines in 1995 and transferred the title to the Agencies and then leased back the rail lines for purposes of the PILOT arrangement. The Agencies state that to extend and restructure the PILOT arrangement, they will first transfer title to the rail lines to FGLK.3 Next, the Agencies will lease the rail lines from FGLK—the transaction at issue in this docket. Lastly, FGLK will sublease the rail lines back from the Agencies to continue operations, including all common carrier service and maintenance of the tracks.4 The Agencies state that they will not hold themselves out to provide any rail service, and are not acquiring any of the common carrier obligations with respect to the rail lines.5 Under the terms of the lease from FGLK to the Agencies and the amended and restated lease from the Agencies to FGLK, the Agencies 3 FGLK filed a verified notice of exemption to acquire the rail lines in Finger Lakes Railway Corp.—Acquis. and Operation Exemption—Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, et al., FD 36012. 4 FGLK and the Agencies requested authority for all three transactions but did not file a separate docket or filing fee for the sublease. This notice, therefore, does not address that transaction. 5 A motion to dismiss the notice of exemption on grounds that the transaction does not require authorization from the Board was concurrently filed with this notice of exemption. The motion to dismiss will be addressed in a subsequent Board decision. E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM 31MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2016 / Notices maintain that FGLK will continue to be the sole provider of railroad services and will have the rights necessary to operate those services. The Agencies state that they are not leasing or acquiring any of the common carrier obligations with respect to the rail lines. The Agencies further state that they will be precluded from interfering materially with FGLK’s common carrier obligation. The Agencies certify that they would not operate over the rail lines and that the transaction will not result in the creation of a Class I or Class II carrier. The Agencies further state that FGLK is a Class III carrier. The Agencies state that the parties intend to consummate the transaction no sooner than April 14, 2016, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice was filed), and only after the Board has ruled on the motion to dismiss. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not automatically stay the effectiveness of the exemption. Petitions to stay must be filed no later than April 7, 2016 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective). An original and ten copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36011, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423–0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on Eric M. Hocky, Clark Hill PLC, 2005 Market Street, Suite 1000, Philadelphia, PA 19103. According to the Agencies, this action is categorically excluded from environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c). Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at www.stb.dot.gov. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Decided: March 28, 2016. By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. Kenyatta Clay, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2016–07293 Filed 3–30–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:09 Mar 30, 2016 Jkt 238001 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration [Docket No. FRA–2016–0002–N–9] Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the renewal Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below are being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on December 29, 2015. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 2, 2016. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Safety, Safety Regulatory Analysis Division, RRS–21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: (202) 493–6292), or Ms. Kimberly Toone, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Administration, Office of Information Technology, RAD–20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: (202) 493–6132). (These telephone numbers are not tollfree.) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104–13, sec. 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking public comment on information collection activities before OMB may approve paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1), and 1320.12. On December 29, 2015, FRA published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register soliciting comment on ICRs that the agency is seeking OMB approval. See 80 FR 81423. FRA received no comments in response to this notice. Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 18683 information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)–(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. The summaries below describe the nature of the information collection requests (ICRs) and their expected burdens. The renewal requests are being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the PRA. Title: System for Telephonic Notification of Unsafe Conditions at Highway-Rail and Pathway Grade Crossings. OMB Control Number: 2130–0591. Abstract: The collection of information is set forth under 49 CFR part 234. The rule is intended specifically to help implement Section 205 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA), Public Law 110–432, Division A, which was enacted on October 16, 2008. Generally, the rule is intended to increase safety at highwayrail and pathway grade crossings. Section 205 of the RSIA mandates that the Secretary of Transportation require certain railroad carriers to take a series of specified actions related to setting up and using systems by which the public is able to notify the railroad by toll-free telephone number of safety problems at its highway-rail and pathway grade crossings. Such systems are commonly known as Emergency Notification Systems (ENS) or ENS programs. 49 CFR part 234 implements section 2015 of the RSIA. The information collected is used by FRA to ensure that railroad carriers establish and maintain a toll-free telephone service to report emergencies at all public, private, and pedestrian grade crossings for rights-of-way over which they dispatch trains. Type of Request: Extension with change of a currently approved information collection. Affected Public: Businesses (Railroads). Form(s): N/A. Total Annual Estimated Responses: 331,072. E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM 31MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18682-18683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07293]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36011]


Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, Onondaga County 
Industrial Development Agency, Ontario County Industrial Development 
Agency, Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency, and Yates County 
Industrial Development Agency--Acquisition Exemption--Finger Lakes 
Railway Corp.

    Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, Onondaga County 
Industrial Development Agency,\1\ Ontario County Industrial Development 
Agency, Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency, and Yates County 
Industrial Development Agency (collectively, Agencies) have filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire by lease 
approximately 86.45 miles of rail lines from Finger Lakes Railway Corp. 
(FGLK), located in New York, as follows: \2\ (1) Watkins Glen 
Industrial Track, located between milepost 41.35 at or near Penn Yan 
and milepost 16.55 at or near Watkins Glen, in Schuyler and Yates 
Counties, a distance of 24.8 miles; (2) Canandaigua Secondary, located 
between milepost 76.00 at or near Canandaigua and milepost 51.30 at or 
near Geneva, in Ontario County, a distance of 24.70 miles; (3) Auburn 
Secondary, located between milepost 37.56 at the Seneca/Cayuga County 
line and milepost 3.61 at or near Solvay Yard, in Cayuga County, a 
distance of 33.95 miles; (4) Geneva Running Track, located between 
milepost 344.40 at or near Geneva and milepost 342.8 at the Ontario/
Seneca County line, in Ontario County, a distance of 1.6 miles; (5) 
Lehigh & Northern Industrial Track, located between milepost 349.20 and 
milepost 348.70 at or near Auburn, in Cayuga County, a distance of 0.90 
miles; and (6) Auburn & Ithaca Industrial Track, located between 
milepost 349.20 and milepost 348.70 at or near Auburn, in Cayuga 
County, a distance of 0.50 miles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ According to the notice, Onondaga County Industrial 
Development Agency (OCIDA) is a non-operating carrier that owns 
other rail lines not involved in this transaction and the New York 
Susquehanna & Western Railway Corp. currently provides service over 
these other rail lines. See Onondaga Cty. Indus. Dev. Agency--
Acquis. and Operation Exemption--Line of Consolidated Rail Corp., FD 
32287 (ICC served July 7, 1994) and New York Susquehanna & W. Ry.--
Trackage Rights Exemption--Onondaga Cty. Indus. Dev. Agency, FD 
32772 (STB served Aug. 7, 2001).
    \2\ The Agencies and FGLK jointly filed one notice for two 
related transactions under 49 CFR 1150.31 and 1150.41, one in this 
docket and one in Docket No. FD 36012, as described further below. A 
separate notice will be published for each exemption. Further, 
because OCIDA is a rail carrier, the notice of exemption in this 
docket will be treated as request for an exemption from 49 U.S.C. 
10902 under the regulations at 49 CFR 1150.41 with regard to OCIDA 
and as a request for an exemption from 49 U.S.C. 10901 under 49 CFR 
1150.31 for the four noncarrier Agencies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    According to the Agencies, the acquisition of the rail lines is 
part of a series of proposed transactions that will allow FGLK to 
continue to pay a negotiated ``payment in lieu of taxes'' (PILOT), 
rather than be subject to local and state taxes. The Agencies state 
that FGLK originally acquired the rail lines in 1995 and transferred 
the title to the Agencies and then leased back the rail lines for 
purposes of the PILOT arrangement. The Agencies state that to extend 
and restructure the PILOT arrangement, they will first transfer title 
to the rail lines to FGLK.\3\ Next, the Agencies will lease the rail 
lines from FGLK--the transaction at issue in this docket. Lastly, FGLK 
will sublease the rail lines back from the Agencies to continue 
operations, including all common carrier service and maintenance of the 
tracks.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ FGLK filed a verified notice of exemption to acquire the 
rail lines in Finger Lakes Railway Corp.--Acquis. and Operation 
Exemption--Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency, et al., FD 
36012.
    \4\ FGLK and the Agencies requested authority for all three 
transactions but did not file a separate docket or filing fee for 
the sublease. This notice, therefore, does not address that 
transaction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Agencies state that they will not hold themselves out to 
provide any rail service, and are not acquiring any of the common 
carrier obligations with respect to the rail lines.\5\ Under the terms 
of the lease from FGLK to the Agencies and the amended and restated 
lease from the Agencies to FGLK, the Agencies

[[Page 18683]]

maintain that FGLK will continue to be the sole provider of railroad 
services and will have the rights necessary to operate those services. 
The Agencies state that they are not leasing or acquiring any of the 
common carrier obligations with respect to the rail lines. The Agencies 
further state that they will be precluded from interfering materially 
with FGLK's common carrier obligation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ A motion to dismiss the notice of exemption on grounds that 
the transaction does not require authorization from the Board was 
concurrently filed with this notice of exemption. The motion to 
dismiss will be addressed in a subsequent Board decision.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Agencies certify that they would not operate over the rail 
lines and that the transaction will not result in the creation of a 
Class I or Class II carrier. The Agencies further state that FGLK is a 
Class III carrier.
    The Agencies state that the parties intend to consummate the 
transaction no sooner than April 14, 2016, the effective date of the 
exemption (30 days after the verified notice was filed), and only after 
the Board has ruled on the motion to dismiss.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption 
under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a 
petition to revoke will not automatically stay the effectiveness of the 
exemption. Petitions to stay must be filed no later than April 7, 2016 
(at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and ten copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket 
No. FD 36011, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 
E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each 
pleading must be served on Eric M. Hocky, Clark Hill PLC, 2005 Market 
Street, Suite 1000, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
    According to the Agencies, this action is categorically excluded 
from environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: March 28, 2016.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-07293 Filed 3-30-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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