Lake State Railway Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Saginaw County, Michigan

Lake State Railway Company (LSRC) has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F—Exempt Abandonments to abandon approximately 6,805 feet of rail line extending from Sta. 9+00 approximately 270 feet northeast of the intersection of Carrollton Road and Ellsworth Road to the end of line at Sta. 77+05 approximately 1,000 feet southwest of the North Niagara Street at-grade railroad crossing of the Huron & Eastern Railway Company, in Saginaw County, Mich. (the Line).^[1] The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 48604 and 48602.

LSRC has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the Line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic could be or was previously handled on the stub-ended Line; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Line (or by a state or local government on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line is pending with either the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the past two years; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) and 1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to government 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,^[2] this exemption will be effective on June 8, 2025, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,^[3] formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), and interim trail use/railbanking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by May 19, 2025.^[4] Petitions to reopen and requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed May 29, 2025.

All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 534 (Sub-No. 4X), must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board either ( printed page 19776) via e-filing on the Board's website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on LSRC's representative, Thomas J. Litwiler, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Dr., Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606-3208.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio.

LSRC has filed a combined environmental and historic report that addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) by May 16, 2025. The Draft EA will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call (202) 245-0245. Comments on environmental or historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes available to the public.

Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/railbanking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent decision.

Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), LSRC 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 LSRC's filing of a notice of consummation by May 9, 2026, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire.

Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.