42490                                  SERVICE DATE – JULY 6, 2012

 

DO

 

FR-4915-01-P

 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 

Surface Transportation Board

 

[Docket No. AB 1098X]

 

Pan Am Southern, LLC.—Abandonment Exemption—in Worcester County, Mass.

[Docket No. AB 355 (Sub No. 41X)]

Springfield Terminal Railway Company—Discontinuance of Service Exemption—in Worcester County, Mass.

Pan Am Southern, LLC (PAS) and Springfield Terminal Railway Company (ST) (collectively, applicants) jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 C.F.R. § 1152 subpart F–Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuance of Service for PAS to abandon, and for ST to discontinue service over, approximately 0.31 miles of rail line known as the Heywood Branch, extending from milepost 26.98 to milepost 27.29 in Gardner, Mass.  The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 01440.

Applicants have certified that:  (1) no local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on 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 Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 C.F.R. § 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 49 C.F.R. § 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 C.F.R. § 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 C.F.R. § 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.

As a condition to these exemptions, any employee adversely affected by the abandonment or discontinuance 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, these exemptions will be effective on August 7, 2012, unless stayed pending reconsideration.  Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,[1] formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 C.F.R. § 1152.27(c)(2),[2] and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 C.F.R. § 1152.29 must be filed by July 16, 2012.  Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 C.F.R. § 1152.28 must be filed by July 26, 2012, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, DC  20423-0001.

A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to applicants’ representative:  Robert B. Burns, Corporate Counsel, Iron Horse Park, North Billerica, MA  01862.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemptions are void ab initio.

Applicants have filed a combined environmental and historic report that addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on the environment and historic resources.  OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) July 13, 2012. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC  20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305.  Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-83339.  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 C.F.R. § 1152.29(e)(2), PAS 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 PAS’s filing of a notice of consummation by July 6, 2013, 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, 2012.

 

By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of Proceedings.