[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79132-79133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31886]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 567 (Sub-No. 2X); Docket No. AB 568 (Sub-No. 2X)]
Rutherford Railroad Development Corporation--Abandonment
Exemption--in Rutherford County, NC; Southeast Shortlines, Inc. d/b/a
Thermal Belt Railway--Discontinuance Exemption--in Rutherford County,
NC
Rutherford Railroad Development Corporation (RRDC) and Southeast
Shortlines, Inc. d/b/a Thermal Belt Railway (TBRY) (collectively,
applicants), have jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49
CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of
Service for RRDC to abandon, and for TBRY to discontinue service over,
approximately 4.97 miles of rail line, between milepost SB 175.5 near
Alexander Mills and milepost SB 180.47 in Spindale, together with a
portion of the Bostic Spur, which runs from approximately the northern
right of way line of U.S. 74 Business, a distance of approximately
2,441.4' westerly to a point at or near Rail Milepost SF-407.40 and
Rail Valuation Station 5343+22, in Rutherford County, N.C. (the Lines).
The Lines traverse United States Postal Service Zip Codes 28043 and
28160.
Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over
the Lines for at least two years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on
the Lines that would have to be rerouted over other lines; (3) no
formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Lines (or by a
state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user)
regarding cessation of service over the Lines 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 January 19, 2016, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by
December 28, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 7, 2016, with
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC
20423-0001.
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\1\ 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.
\2\ 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' representative: Jeffrey A. Bandini, Parker Poe Adams &
Bernstein LLP, P.O. Box 389, Raleigh, NC 27602.
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 December 24, 2015. 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), RRDC shall file
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the Lines. If
consummation has not been effected by RRDC's filing of a notice of
consummation by December 18, 2016,
[[Page 79133]]
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: December 15, 2015.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-31886 Filed 12-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P