Lamoille Valley Railroad CompanyAbandonment and Discontinuance of Service Exemptionin Franklin and Lamoille Counties, VT

Surface Transportation Board

Surface Transportation Board \1\

[STB Docket No. AB-444X]

Lamoille Valley Railroad Company--Abandonment and Discontinuance

of Service Exemption--in Franklin and Lamoille Counties, VT

Lamoille Valley Railroad Company (LVRC) has filed a notice of

exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to

abandon and discontinue service over 44.4 miles of railroad line from

railroad milepost 95.324, in Swanton, to railroad milepost 94.288, in

Swanton, and from railroad milepost 92.000, in Highgate, to railroad

milepost 48.614, in Morrisville, located in Franklin and Lamoille

Counties, VT.

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\1\ The ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-88, 109 Stat.

803, which was enacted on December 29, 1995, and took effect on

January 1, 1996, abolished the Interstate Commerce Commission and

transferred certain functions to the Surface Transportation Board

(Board). This notice relates to functions that are subject to the

Board's jurisdiction pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10903.

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LVRC has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the

line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the

line; (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 Board or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in

favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements

at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic

reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 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 shall be protected under Oregon Short Line R. Co.--

Abandonment--Goshen, 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, this exemption will be

effective on October 18, 1996, unless stayed pending reconsideration.

Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,2

[[Page 49192]]

formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR

1152.27(c)(2),3 and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR

1152.29 4 must be filed by September 30, 1996. Petitions to reopen

or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be

filed by October 8, 1996, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control

Branch, Surface Transportation Board, 1201 Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20423.

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\2\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on

environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's

Section of Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation)

cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. See Exemption

of Out-of-Service 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\ See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4

I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).

\4\ The Board will accept late-filed trail use requests so long

as the abandonment has not been consummated and the abandoning

railroad is willing to negotiate an agreement.

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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to

applicant's representative: David H. Anderson, Esq., 288 Littleton

Road, Suite 21, Westford, MA 01886.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

LVRC has filed an environmental report which addresses the

abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic

resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an

environmental assessment (EA) by September 20, 1996. Interested persons

may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 3219, Surface

Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling Elaine

Kaiser, Chief of SEA, at (202) 927-6248. Comments on environmental and

historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the 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.

Decided: September 10, 1996.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-23857 Filed 9-17-96; 8:45 am]

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