[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 835-836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33806]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 312 (Sub-No. 3X)]
South Carolina Central Railroad Company, LLC--Abandonment
Exemption--in Chesterfield and Darlington Counties, SC
South Carolina Central Railroad Company, LLC (SCRF) has filed a
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon approximately 12.8 miles of rail line between
milepost 319.89 +/- (centerline of Burlington Drive road crossing),
near Society Hill, and extending in a northerly direction to milepost
332.68 (south line of Market Street), including other legs of wye track
extending westerly to milepost 332.48 (east line of U.S. Route 1), in
Cheraw, in Chesterfield and Darlington Counties, S.C. The line
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 29709 and 29593.
SCRF has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the line can be
rerouted over other lines; (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 Surface Transportation Board (Board) or
with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of
complainant within the 2-year period. SCRF has further certified that
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 February 5, 2012, 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
January 17, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 26, 2012, 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
currently is set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
SCRF's representative: Melanie B. Yasbin, Law Offices of Louis E.
Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
SCRF 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 January 13, 2012. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface
[[Page 836]]
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), SCRF 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 SCRF's filing of a notice of
consummation by January 6, 2013, 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 http://www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: December 29, 2011.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-33806 Filed 1-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P