[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 38668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15862]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 360X)]
Yadkin Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Stanly County,
NC
Yadkin Railroad Company (YRC) \1\ has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon a 4.14-mile line of railroad between milepost N 27.50 in North
Albemarle and the end of the line at milepost N 31.64 in Albemarle,
Stanly County, N.C. (the Line).\2\ The Line traverses United States
Postal Service Zip Code 28001.
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\1\ YRC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway
Company.
\2\ YRC states that the Line was the subject of a 2006
abandonment proceeding invoked under the class exemption procedures
for rail lines that have been out of service for at least two years.
Yadkin R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Stanly Cnty., N.C., AB 290 (Sub-No.
281X) (STB served Nov. 14, 2006) (2006 Proceeding). YRC also states
that the exemption that Yadkin had invoked in the 2006 Proceeding
has lapsed and there has been no further service or requests for
service since that time. Therefore, Yadkin has invoked the
abandonment class exemption procedures anew here. YRC notes that the
portion of the Line between milepost N 27.50, just south of Bethany
Road, and milepost N 29.60 will be reclassified as industrial lead
track excepted under 49 U.S.C. 10906. YRC also notes that the rail
and track materials on the 2.04-mile portion of the Line between
milepost N 29.60 and the end of the Line at milepost N 31.64 were
removed in conjunction with the 2006 Proceeding and that, to the
best of its knowledge, YRC complied with the salvage conditions
imposed in that proceeding. See Yadkin R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in
Stanly Cnty., N.C., AB 290 (Sub-No. 281X) (STB served Dec. 13,
2006).
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YRC 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, it could be
rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint has been 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 and no such complaint is either 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 7, 2014, 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),\4\ and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by
July 18, 2014. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by July 28, 2014, 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 YRC's
representative: William A. Mullins, 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.
YRC 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 11, 2014. 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 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), YRC 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 YRC's filing of a notice of
consummation by July 8, 2015, 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 2, 2014.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-15862 Filed 7-7-14; 8:45 am]
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