[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18053-18054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8812]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-565 (Sub-No. 8X)] and [STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 
608X)]


New York Central Lines, LLC--Abandonment Exemption--in Delaware 
County, OH and CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Service 
Exemption--in Delaware County, OH

    New York Central Lines, LLC (NYC) and CSX Transportation, Inc. 
(CSXT) have filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F--
Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for NYC to abandon 
and CSXT to discontinue service over approximately 1.5 miles of 
railroad from milepost QED 114.1 to milepost QED 115.6 in Delaware, 
Delaware County, OH.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal Service 
Zip Code 43015.
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    \1\ Pursuant to Board authorization in 1998, CSX Corporation, 
CSXT's parent company, and Norfolk Southern Corporation jointly 
acquired control of Conrail Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, 
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). As a result of that 
acquisition, certain assets of Conrail have been assigned to NYC, a 
wholly owned subsidiary of Conrail, to be exclusively operated by 
CSXT pursuant to an operating agreement. The line to be abandoned is 
included among the property being operated by CSXT pursuant to the 
NYC operating agreement.
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    NYC and CSXT have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved 
over the line for at least 2 years; (2) overhead traffic will be 
diverted to another CSXT rail line with the construction of a track 
connection; \2\ (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 (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.
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    \2\ CSXT states that this track connection has not yet been 
constructed and that it is negotiating an agreement with the city of 
Delaware and the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) wherein the 
ORDC would contribute funds for the construction of the connection 
track in exchange for the closure of the five grade crossings on the 
line. CSXT states that it will petition the Board for approval of 
the construction of the connection track, which at this point is 
likely to be constructed on CSXT property.
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    As a condition to these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or 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) must be 
filed. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of 
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, these exemptions will be 
effective on May 14, 2002,\3\ unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\4\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\5\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
April 22, 2002. Petitions to reopen or requests for

[[Page 18054]]

public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by May 2, 
2002, with: Surface Transportation Board, Case Control Unit, 1925 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.
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    \3\ CSXT states that the proposed consummation date of this 
abandonment is March 22, 2003, because this line is utilized for 
overhead traffic, and it does not intend to consummate the 
abandonment until such time as the connection track construction is 
complete.
    \4\ 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.
    \5\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by 
the filing fee, which as of April 8, 2002, is set at $1,100. See 49 
CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representative: Natalie S. Rosenberg, CSX Transportation, 
Inc., 500 Water Street J150, Jacksonville, FL 32202.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NYC and CSXT have filed an environmental report which addresses the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on the 
environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by April 19, 2002. Interested persons may obtain a copy 
of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, 
Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1552. [TDD for 
the hearing impaired is available 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), NYC 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 NYC's filing of a notice of 
consummation by April 12, 2003, 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 
``www.stb.dot.gov.''

    Decided: April 5, 2002.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-8812 Filed 4-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P