81 FR 39995 - Union Pacific Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Alameda County, Cal.

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 118 (June 20, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 118 (Monday, June 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39995-39996]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14469]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 33 (Sub-No. 326X)]


Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Alameda 
County, Cal.

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon all of its remaining trackage on Alameda Island in Alameda 
County, Cal. (the Line). The Line totals approximately 4.3 miles and 
consists of five rail segments: (1) UP's Alameda Industrial Lead, from 
milepost 10.0 near Fruitvale to milepost 10.4 near Lincoln Jct.; (2) 
the Alameda Industrial Lead from milepost 16.0 near Mastic Jct. to 
milepost 18.2 near West Alameda; (3) the former South Pacific Coast 
Railway mainline from milepost 5.0 at West Alameda to milepost 6.1 at 
Pacific Jct.; (4) the connection between the Alameda Industrial Lead at 
milepost 18.0 and South Pacific Coast milepost 5.4 near West Alameda; 
and (5) track #7, the connection between the Alameda Belt Line near St. 
Charles Avenue and the Alameda Industrial Lead at its milepost 16.5 
near Constitution Way. The Line also includes all other UP ancillary, 
industrial, switching, siding, and spur trackage on Alameda Island and 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 94501 and 94601.\1\
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    \1\ In its combined environmental and historic report, UP notes 
that because the Line was used in electric interurban service from 
1911 to 1940, it appeared to have been reclassified by then-owner 
Southern Pacific Railroad and viewed as an unregulated switching 
spur. UP views the Line as potentially falling under STB 
jurisdiction and is seeking exempt abandonment authority to clarify 
the record with regard to the Line.
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    UP has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the Line 
for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the Line 
for at least two years and, therefore, there is no need to reroute any 
traffic; (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

[[Page 39996]]

with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of 
complainant within the two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 
CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 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 
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, this exemption will 
become effective on July 20, 2016, unless stayed pending 
reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental 
issues,\2\ formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 
CFR 1152.29 must be filed by June 30, 2016. Petitions to reopen or 
requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed 
by July 11, 2016, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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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 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to UP's 
representative: Jeremy M. Berman, 1400 Douglas St., #1580, Omaha, NE 
68179.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    UP has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by June 24, 2016. 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 at (800) 877-8339. 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 interim trail 
use/rail banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a 
subsequent decision.
    Pursuant to 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 20, 
2017, 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 Web site at 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

    Decided: June 15, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. Contee,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-14469 Filed 6-17-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P