[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57681-57682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22794]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 341X)]
Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Polk
County, Iowa
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon approximately 0.6 miles of non-contiguous rail line segments in
Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, as follows: (1) Approximately 0.3 miles
of rail line extending between milepost SD 336.8 at SE 26th Ct. and
milepost SD 337.1 at Scott Ave. (the eastern segment); and (2)
approximately 0.3 miles of rail line extending between milepost SD
339.3 at E 6th Street and milepost SD 339.6 near E. 1st Street and the
Des Moines River (the western segment).\1\ The line traverses United
States Postal Service Zip Codes 50309 and 50317.
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\1\ According to NSR, the line segments are part of the same
rail line but are separated by an approximately 2.0-mile middle line
segment, which will not be abandoned and which will continue to
connect with other rail lines.
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NSR has 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 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 October 19, 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
September 30, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 9, 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 NSR'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.
NSR 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 September 24, 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 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 September 19, 2014,
[[Page 57682]]
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: September 16, 2013.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-22794 Filed 9-18-13; 8:45 am]
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