[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 250 (Friday, December 29, 1995)] [Notices] [Pages 67364-67365] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-31500] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION [Docket Nos. AB-464X and AB-290 (Sub. No. 174X)] Piedmont and Atlantic Railroad Co., Inc., d/b/a Yadkin Valley Railroad Company; Discontinuance of Service Exemption and Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption Piedmont and Atlantic Railroad Co., Inc., d/b/a Yadkin Valley Railroad Company (YVRR), and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) have filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances for YVRR to discontinue service over and NS to abandon 8.7 miles of rail line between milepost CF-29.8 at Rural Hall and milepost CF-38.5 at Brook Cove, in [[Page 67365]] Forsyth and Stokes Counties and the City of Rural Hall, NC. YVRR and NS certify that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic can be rerouted over other lines or will be retained and interchanged between NS and YVRR on track now lying between MP CF-29.8 and MP CF-31.2, which will be reclassified as house or interchange track; (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 Commission or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of the complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (service of environmental report on agencies), 49 CFR 1105.8 (service of historic report on State Historic Preservation Officer), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (service of verified notice on governmental agencies) have been met. As a condition to use of this exemption, any employee adversely affected by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 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. 10505(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 January 28, 1996, 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 3 must be filed by January 8, 1996. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 18, 1996, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.4 \1\ A stay will be issued routinely by the Commission in those proceedings where an informed decision on environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Commission's Section of Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be made before the effective date of the notice of exemption. See Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any entity seeking a stay on environmental concerns is encouraged to file its request as soon as possible in order to permit the Commission to review and act on the request before the effective date of this exemption. \2\ See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4 I.C.C.2d 164 (1987). \3\ The Commission will accept a late-filed trail use request as long as it retains jurisdiction to do so. \4\ Legislation to sunset the Commission on December 31, 1995, and transfer remaining functions is now under consideration in Congress. Until further notice, parties submitting pleadings should continue to use the current name and address. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A copy of any pleading filed with the Commission should be sent to applicant's representative: Jo A. DeRoche, Attorney for YVRR, Weiner, Brodsky, Sidman & Kider, 1350 New York Ave., N.W. Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005-4797; and James R. Paschall, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510. If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Applicant has filed an environmental report which addresses the abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by January 3, 1996. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 3219, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling Elaine Kaiser, Chief of SEA, at (202) 927-6248. 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. Decided: December 21, 1995. By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary. [FR Doc. 95-31500 Filed 12-28-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7035-01-P