[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]



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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.
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    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