Federal Register, Volume 73 Issue 2 (Thursday, January 3, 2008)

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 2 (Thursday, January 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 539]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-25486]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 675X)]


CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Ware County, 
GA

    CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), has filed a notice of exemption 
\1\ under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 
1.08-mile rail line on CSXT's Southern Region, Jacksonville Division, 
Fitzgerald Subdivision, between mileposts AP 588.84 and AP 587.76 in 
Waycross, Ware County, GA. The line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Codes 31501 and 31503.
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    \1\ CSXT also filed a petition seeking exemption from the offer 
of financial assistance provisions of 49 U.S.C. 10904. The merits of 
the petition will be addressed in a separate decision.
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    CSXT 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 or with 
any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant 
within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 
(environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 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 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. 10502(d) must be filed.
    Provided no formal expression of intent to file an OFA has been 
received, this exemption will be effective on February 2, 2008, 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 January 14, 2008. Petitions to 
reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must 
be filed by January 23, 2008, 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 
Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Service 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 
currently is set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
CSXT's representative: Louis E. Gitomer, 600 Baltimore Ave., Suite 301, 
Towson, MD 21204.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    CSXT has filed both an environmental report and a historic report 
that address the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by January 8, 2008. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to SEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 
20423-0001) or by calling SEA, 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), CSXT 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 CSXT's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 3, 2009, 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 27, 2007.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-25486 Filed 1-2-08; 8:45 am]
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