90 FR 158 pgs. 40460-40461 - Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad LLC—Abandonment Exemption—in Rio Grande County, Colo.
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 158Pages: 40460 - 40461
Pages: 40460, 40461Docket number: [Docket No. AB 1344X]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-15714 Filed 8-18-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Surface Transportation Board
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1344X]
Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad LLC-Abandonment Exemption-in Rio Grande County, Colo.
Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad LLC (CXRG) has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F- Exempt Abandonments to abandon an approximately 26.55-mile segment of its Alamosa Subdivision between milepost 272.75, near Monte Vista, Colo., and milepost 299.3, near Derrick, Colo., both in Rio Grande County, Colo. (the Line). 1 The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 81154, 81132, and 81144.
Footnotes:
1 ?CXRG initially submitted its verified notice on July 1, 2025. On July 15, 2025, CXRG filed a motion asking the Board to hold the proceeding in abeyance so that it could correct certain errors concerning the description of the Line. CXRG's request was granted on July 16, 2025. On July 22, 2025, CXRG submitted an updated verified notice. It then supplemented that notice on July 30, 2025, due to an error concerning the description of the Line in the newspaper. See 49 CFR 1105.12. The abeyance is lifted, and July 30, 2025, will be considered the filing date of the verified notice.
[top] CXRG has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the Line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic could be or was previously handled on the Line; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Line (or by a state or local government on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line is pending with either the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the past two years; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) and
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, 2 this exemption will be effective on September 18, 2025, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues, 3 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 August 29, 2025. 4 Petitions to reopen and requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed September 8, 2025.
Footnotes:
2 ?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).
3 ?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.
4 ?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 No. AB 1344X, 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 CXRG's representative, Thomas W. Wilcox, Law Office of Thomas W. Wilcox, LLC, 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio.
CXRG 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 August 22, 2025. 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 or historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes available to the public.
Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/railbanking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), CXRG 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 CXRG's filing of a notice of consummation by August 19, 2026, 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: August 12, 2025.
By the Board, Anika S. Cooper, Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-15714 Filed 8-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P