89 FR 118 pgs. 51585-51586 - The State of Oklahoma by and Through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation—Abandonment Exemption—in Payne County, Okla.; Stillwater Central Railroad, L.L.C.—Discontinuance Exemption—in Payne County, Okla.
Type: NOTICEVolume: 89Number: 118Pages: 51585 - 51586
Pages: 51585, 51586Docket number: [Docket No. AB 1330X; Docket No. AB 1040 (Sub-No. 1X)]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2024-13381 Filed 6-17-24; 8:45 am]
Agency: Surface Transportation Board
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
[top]
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1330X; Docket No. AB 1040 (Sub-No. 1X)]
The State of Oklahoma by and Through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation-Abandonment Exemption-in Payne County, Okla.; Stillwater Central Railroad, L.L.C.-Discontinuance Exemption-in Payne County, Okla.
The State of Oklahoma by and through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Stillwater Central Railroad, L.L.C. (SLWC), (collectively, Applicants) have jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F- Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for ODOT to abandon, and for SLWC to discontinue service over, an approximately 3.2-mile stub-ended rail line extending between milepost 30.74 and milepost 27.54 in Stillwater, Payne County, Okla. (the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Code 74074 and has one station.
Applicants have certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the Line since 2018; (2) because the Line is not a "through line," there is no overhead traffic that would need to be rerouted; (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 reports), 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 abandonment or 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) has been received, 1 these exemptions will be effective on July 18, 2024, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues, 2 formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), and interim trail use/railbanking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by June 28, 2024. 3 Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by July 8, 2024.
Footnotes:
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 effective date of the exemptions. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request to stay should be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may take appropriate action before the effective date of the exemptions.
3 ?Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
All pleadings, referring to Docket Nos. AB 1330X and AB 1040 (Sub-No. 1X), must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board either via e-filing on the Board's website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on ODOT's representative, Eric M. Hocky, Clark Hill, PLC, Two Commerce Square, 2001 Market Street, Suite 2620, Philadelphia, PA 19103; and SLWC's representative, Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemptions are void ab initio.
[top] ODOT has 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 June 24, 2024. The Draft EA will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call (202) 245-0245. Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days
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), ODOT 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 ODOT's filing of a notice of consummation by June 18, 2025, 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: June 12, 2024.
By the Board, Valerie O. Quinn, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2024-13381 Filed 6-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P