Union Pacific Railroad CompanyAbandonment Exemptionin Arkansas County, AR

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 121X)]

Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in

Arkansas County, AR

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a notice of exemption

under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of

Service and Trackage Rights to abandon and discontinue service over a

26.0-mile line of railroad on the Stuttgart Branch from milepost 236.0

near Ricusky to the end of the line at milepost 262.0 near Indiana, in

Arkansas County, AR. The line traverses United States Postal Service

Zip Code 72042.

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

for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the line can 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 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 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

[[Page 30812]]

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 July 5,

1998, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do

not involve environmental issues,1 formal expressions of

intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 and trail

use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by June

15, 1998. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions

under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by June 25, 1998, with: Surface

Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423.

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\1\ 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.

\2\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by

the filing fee, which currently is set at $1000. See 49 CFR

1002.2(f)(25).

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

applicant's representative: Joseph D. Anthofer, General Attorney, Union

Pacific Railroad Company, 1416 Dodge Street, Room 830, Omaha, NE 68170.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

UP has filed an environmental report which addresses the effects of

the abandonment and discontinuance, if any, on the environment and

historic resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will

issue an environmental assessment (EA) by June 10, 1998. Interested

persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500,

Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA,

at (202) 565-1545. 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.

Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), UP 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 UP's filing of a notice of consummation by June 5,

1999, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation,

the authority to abandon will automatically expire.

Board decisions and notices are available on our website at

``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

Decided: May 27, 1998.

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

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-14572 Filed 6-4-98; 8:45 am]

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