[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46412-46413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18376]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 326X); Docket No. AB 1093X]
Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Henry
County, Ind.; C&NC Railroad Corporation--Discontinuance of Service
Exemption--in Henry County, IN.
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) and C&NC Railroad
Corporation (CNUR) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a
verified notice of exemption \1\ under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F-Exempt
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for NSR to abandon, and for
CNUR to discontinue service over, approximately 0.88 miles of non-
contiguous rail line segments in New Castle, in Henry County, Ind., as
follows: (1) Approximately 0.12 miles of rail line extending between
milepost R 0.00 (near Broad Street) and milepost R 0.1205 (near the
intersection of S. 16th St. and Indiana Ave.); and (2) approximately
0.76 miles of rail line extending between milepost R 1.1629 (near the
intersection of Cherrywood Avenue and M Avenue) and milepost R 1.92
(near the intersection of Cherrywood Avenue and Riley Road).\2\ The
line segments traverse United States Postal Service Zip Code 47362.
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\1\ Applicants initially filed the notice of exemption on April
26, 2013. By letter filed on June 14, 2013, applicants requested
that the proceedings be held in abeyance, and, on the same date, the
Board granted applicants' request. On July 11, 2013, applicants
submitted an amended notice of exemption.
\2\ According to applicants, the line segments are part of the
same rail line but are separated by an approximately 1.04-mile
middle line segment, which will not be abandoned and which will
continue to connect with other rail lines.
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Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over
the line segments for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has
moved over the line segments 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 segments
(or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such
user) regarding cessation of service over the line segments 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 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 30, 2013, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do
[[Page 46413]]
not involve environmental issues,\3\ formal expressions of intent to
file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and trail use/rail banking
requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by August 12, 2013.
Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR
1152.28 must be filed by August 20, 2013, with the Surface
Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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\3\ 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.
\4\ 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
applicants' representatives: Robert A. Wimbish, Baker & Miller PLLC,
2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037, and
Richard R. Wilson, 518 Center St., Suite 1, Ebensberg, PA 15931.
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) by August 5, 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 (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), NSR shall file
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line segments.
If consummation has not been effected by NSR's filing of a notice of
consummation by July 31, 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 26, 2013.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-18376 Filed 7-30-13; 8:45 am]
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