Grand Trunk Western Railroad IncorporatedAbandonment Exemptionin Macomb County, MI

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-31 (Sub-No. 35X)]

Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated--Abandonment

Exemption--in Macomb County, MI

Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated (GTW) has filed a notice

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

abandon a 19.08-mile line of its railroad on the Romeo Subdivision

between Richmond and Washington from milepost 0.42 to milepost 19.50 in

Macomb County, MI. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip

Codes 48062, 48005, 48065, 48094 and 48095.

GTW has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the

line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic that previously

moved over the line can be rerouted over other GTW 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 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 August 9,

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 July

20, 1998. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions

under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by July 30, 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: Robert P. vom Eigen,

[[Page 37446]]

Esq., Hopkins & Sutter, 888 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC

20006.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

GTW 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 July 15, 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), GTW 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 GTW's filing of a notice of

consummation by July 10, 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: July 2, 1998.

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

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-18456 Filed 7-9-98; 8:45 am]

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