Notice2025-05364
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Cumberland County, Maine
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
March 28, 2025
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 59 (Friday, March 28, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 59 (Friday, March 28, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14175-14176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05364]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1117 (Sub-No. 1X)]
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--
in Cumberland County, Maine
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad Company (SLR) has filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon its perpetual freight easement over an
approximately 24.23-mile rail line between milepost 1.74 near Deering,
Me., and milepost 25.97 at the town line between New Gloucester and
Auburn, in Cumberland County, Me. (the Line). The Line traverses United
States Postal Service Zip Codes 04101, 04103, 04105, 04021, 04096,
04097, 04069, 04260 and includes no stations.\1\ According to the
verified notice, SLR discontinued service on the Line in 2015. See St.
Lawrence & Atl. R.R.--Discontinuance of Serv. Exemption--in Cumberland
Cnty., Me., AB 1117X (STB served Oct. 15, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ SLR states that the Maine Department of Transportation is
the owner of the underlying property. See Maine--Pet. for
Declaratory Ord., FD 35440 (STB served Dec. 10, 2010).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLR has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the
Line since 2015; (2) there is no overhead traffic 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
[[Page 14176]]
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 1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic
reports), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), 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,\2\ this exemption will be
effective on April 27, 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 April 7, 2025.\4\ Petitions to reopen and requests for public
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed April 17, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 1117 (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 SLR's representative, Justin J. Marks, Clark Hill PLC, 1001
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1300 South, Washington, DC 20004.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
SLR 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 April 4, 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), SLR 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 SLR's filing of a notice of
consummation by March 28, 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 <a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>.
Decided: March 24, 2025.
By the Board, Nathaniel A. Bawcombe, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-05364 Filed 3-27-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 28, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.