[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1994-1995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-826]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board \1\
[Docket Nos. AB-450 (Sub-No. 1X) and AB-290 (Sub-No. 141X)]


Ogeechee Railway Company; Discontinuance of Service Exemption--
Between Cochran and Hawkinsville, GA; Norfolk Southern Railway Company; 
Abandonment Exemption--Between Cochran and Hawkinsville, GA

    Ogeechee Railway Company (Ogeechee) and Norfolk Southern Railway 
Company (NS) have filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR Part 1152 
Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances for Ogeechee to 
discontinue service over and NS to abandon 9.53 miles of rail line 
between milepost L-0.0 at Cochran and milepost L-9.53 at Hawkinsville, 
in Bleckley and Pulaski Counties, GA.

    \1\ The ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104-88, 109 
Stat. 803 (the Act), which was enacted on December 29, 1995, and 
took effect on January 1, 1996, abolished the Interstate Commerce 
Commission (ICC) and transferred certain functions and proceedings 
to the Surface Transportation Board (Board). Section 204(b)(1) of 
the Act provides, in general, that proceedings pending before the 
ICC on the effective date of that legislation shall be decided under 
the law in effect prior to January 1, 1996, insofar as they involve 
functions retained by the Act. This notice relates to a proceeding 
that was pending with the ICC prior to January 1, 1996, and to 
functions that are subject to Board jurisdiction pursuant to section 
10903. Therefore, this notice applies the law in effect prior to the 
Act, and citations are to the former section of the statute, unless 
otherwise indicated.
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    Ogeechee 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; (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 Board 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 (environmental reports), 49 CFR 
1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 
1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 

[[Page 1995]]
49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.
    As a condition to use of this exemption, any employee adversely 
affected by the abandonment/discontinuance 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) [formerly 
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 February 23, 1996, 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 \4\ must be filed 
by February 5, 1996. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 13, 1996, 
with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, Surface 
Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423.

    \2\ A stay will be issued routinely by the Board in those 
proceedings where an informed decision on environmental issues 
(whether raised by a party or by the Board's Section of 
Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be 
made prior to 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 Board to 
review and act on the request before the effective date of this 
exemption.
    \3\ See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4 
I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).
    \4\ The Board will accept a late-filed trail use request as long 
as it retains jurisdiction to do so.
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    A copy of any pleading filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representatives: John M. Robinson, for Ogeechee, 9616 Old 
Spring Road, Kensington, MD 20895; 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.
    Applicants have filed an environmental report which addresses the 
effects of the abandonment/discontinuance, if any, on the environmental 
and historic resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) 
will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by January 29, 1996. 
Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 
3219, Surface Transportation Board, 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 is 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: January 17, 1996.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-826 Filed 1-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P