[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19523-19524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8170]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 323X)]
The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company--Abandonment
Exemption--in Saint Bernard Parish, LA
The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company (AGS),\1\ filed a
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt
Abandonments to abandon a 3.50-mile rail line between mileposts 1.00-PT
and 4.50-PT, near Toca, in Saint Bernard Parish, La.\2\ The line
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 70085.
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\1\ AGS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway
Company.
\2\ Service on the line (plus an additional segment between
mileposts 0.00-PT and 1.00-PT) was discontinued in 2006 pursuant to
Board authorization in Alabama Great Southern Railroad--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Saint Bernard Parish, La.,
Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 273X) (served July 18, 2006).
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AGS has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the
line for at least 2 years, and that overhead traffic, if there were
any, could 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; and (4) the requirements
at 49 CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal
letter), 49 CFR
[[Page 19524]]
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 May 7, 2011, 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
April 18, 2011. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 27, 2011, 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 $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to AGS's
representative: Greg E. Summy, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA
23510.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
AGS has filed a combined environmental and historic report which
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA)
by April 12, 2011. 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), AGS 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 AGS's filing of a notice of
consummation by April 7, 2012, 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: April 1, 2011.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-8170 Filed 4-6-11; 8:45 am]
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