[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3839-3840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1515]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 167 (Sub-No. 1191X); Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 710X);
Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 552X)]
Consolidated Rail Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in
Philadelphia, PA; CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Service
Exemption--in Philadelphia, PA; Norfolk Southern Railway Company--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Philadelphia, PA
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), CSX Transportation, Inc.
(CSXT), and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) (collectively,
applicants) jointly have filed a verified notice of exemption under 49
CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of
Service for Conrail to abandon, and for CSXT and NSR to discontinue
service over, a 2.98-mile line of railroad known as the Berks Street
Industrial Track, extending from milepost 0.00 to milepost
2.98 in Philadelphia, Pa.\1\ The line traverses United
States Postal Service Zip Codes 19122, 19123 and 19134.
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\1\ Applicants state that Conrail has ownership of the line
extending from milepost 2.70 to milepost 2.98 but only has operating
rights from milepost 0.00 to milepost 2.70. The portion over which
Conrail retains only operating rights was sold to the City of
Philadelphia in 1978.
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Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over
the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic that has moved
or could move over the line can be rerouted; (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 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 these exemptions, any employee adversely affected
by the abandonment or discontinuances 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 February 24, 2012, 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
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by
February 6, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 14, 2012,
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 exemptions' 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 exemptions' effective
date.
\3\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is
currently set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
applicants' representative: Benjamin C. Dunlap, Jr., Esquire, Nauman,
Smith, Shissler and Hall, LLP, 200 North Third Street, 18th Floor,
Harrisburg, PA 17101.
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
discontinuances on the environment and historic resources. OEA will
issue an environmental assessment (EA) by January 30, 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 1-(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 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), Conrail shall
file a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has
exercised the
[[Page 3840]]
authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If consummation has not
been effected by Conrail's filing of a notice of consummation by
January 25, 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 Web site at
www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: January 20, 2012.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-1515 Filed 1-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P