[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43273-43274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17282]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 343X)]
Central of Georgia Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in
Newton County, Ga.
Central of Georgia Railroad Company (CGA) \1\ has filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon approximately 14.90 miles of rail line between
milepost E 65.80 (at the point of the line's crossing of Route 229 in
Newborn) and milepost E 80.70 (near the intersection of Washington
Street SW., and Turner Lake Road SW., in Covington), in Newton County,
Ga. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 30014,
30055, and 30056.
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\1\ CGA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway
Company.
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CGA 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 if there were any overhead traffic, it
could 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 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 be
effective on August 20, 2013, 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
July 29, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by August 8, 2013, 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 CGA's
representative: Robert A. Wimbish, Baker & Miller PLLC, 2401
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
CGA 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 July 26, 2013. 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
[[Page 43274]]
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), CGA 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 CGA's filing of a notice of
consummation by July 19, 2014, 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: July 12, 2013.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-17282 Filed 7-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P