[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71223-71224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31082]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-601 (Sub-No. 1X)]


Pine Belt Southern Railroad Company, Inc.--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Lee and Chambers Counties, AL

    Pine Belt Southern Railroad Company, Inc. (PBRR) has filed a notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a 17.4-mile line of railroad between milepost T-322.40 at 
Roanoke Junction and milepost T-339.66 at Lafayette, in Lee and 
Chambers Counties, AL.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Codes 36801, 36802, 36803, 36804 and 36862.
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    \1\ The City of Opelika (City) filed a request for imposition of 
a public use condition and for issuance of a notice of interim trail 
use for the entire line pursuant to section 8(d) of the National 
Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. 1247(d). The Board will address the 
City's public use and trail use requests, and any others that may be 
filed, in a subsequent decision.
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    PBRR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there has been no overhead traffic on 
the line during the past 2 years; (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.
    As a condition to this exemption, any employees adversely affected 
by the

[[Page 71224]]

abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line R. Co.--
Abandonment--Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address whether this 
condition adequately protect 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 January 21, 2004, 
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 2, 2004. 
Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 
1152.28 must be filed by January 12, 2004, with: Surface Transportation 
Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.
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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 $1,100. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
PBRR's representative: G. Richard Abernathy, P.O. Box 1317, 
Shelbyville, TN 37162.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    PBRR has filed an environmental report which addresses the 
abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic 
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by December 
23, 2003. 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) 565-1539. [Assistance for the hearing impaired 
is available through 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), PBRR 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 PBRR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by December 22, 2004, 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 10, 2003.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-31082 Filed 12-19-03; 8:45 am]
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