Wisconsin Central Ltd.Abandonment Exemptionin Brown County, WI

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-303 (Sub-No. 20X)]

Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Abandonment Exemption--in Brown County,

WI

Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL) has filed a notice of exemption under

49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 1.63-mile line

of its railroad between milepost 198.37 and milepost 200 in Green Bay,

Brown County, WI. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip

Codes 54303 and 54304.

WCL 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 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 November

18, 1999, 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 October

29, 1999. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions

under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 8, 1999, with: Surface

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

K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20423.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\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).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

applicant's representative: Michael J. Barron, Jr., Wisconsin Central

Ltd., P.O. Box 5062, Rosemont, IL 60017-5062.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

WCL 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 October 22, 1999. Interested persons

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

Transportation Board,

[[Page 56385]]

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), WCL 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 WCL's filing of a notice of

consummation by October 19, 2000, 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.''

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

Proceedings.

Decided: October 12, 1999.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-27130 Filed 10-18-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915-00-P