Notice2021-24568
Connecticut Southern Railroad, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Hartford County, Conn.
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 10, 2021
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 215 (Wednesday, November 10, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 62591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24568]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 979 (Sub-No. 3X)]
Connecticut Southern Railroad, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in
Hartford County, Conn.
Connecticut Southern Railroad, Inc. (CSO), has filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exemption
Abandonments to abandon a rail line between approximately milepost 8.33
(Station 5730+04) and milepost 9.40 (Station 5673+42) in Hartford
County, Conn. (the Line). There are no stations on the Line. The Line
traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Code 06042.
CSO has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
Line since approximately July 2016; (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 state or local government on behalf of such user)
regarding cessation of service over the Line either is pending with the
Surface Transportation Board (Board) or has been decided in favor of a
complainant within the two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49
CFR 1105.7(b) and 1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic
reports), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publications), and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to government agencies) have been met.
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,\1\ this exemption will be
effective on December 10, 2021, 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/rail banking request under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be
filed by November 22, 2021.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for
public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November
30, 2021.
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\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 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.
\3\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
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All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 979 (Sub-No. 3X), should
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the
Board's website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on
CSO's representative, Eric M. Hocky, Clark Hill PLC, Two Commerce
Square, 2001 Market Street, Suite 2620, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
CSO 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 November 15, 2021. 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. Assistance for the
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at
(800) 877-8339. 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/rail
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent
decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), CSO 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 CSO's filing of a notice of
consummation by November 10, 2022, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.
Board decisions and notices are available at <a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>.
Decided: November 5, 2021.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-24568 Filed 11-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 10, 2021.
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