[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42241-42242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15936]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 647X) \1\


CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--In Darlington 
County, SC

    CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) has filed a notice of exemption 
under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 
1.49-mile line of the Southern Region, Florence Division, Hamlet 
Subdivision, between milepost SJ 306.13 (V.S. 387+15) and milepost 
307.39 (V.S. 465+62.5), in Darlington County, SC. The line traverses 
United States Postal Service ZIP Code 29550.
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    \1\ Due to administrative oversight, this notice was not served 
and published as scheduled on July 7, 2004. The notice is being 
served on July 8, 2004, and it will be published in the Federal 
Register as soon as possible.
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    CSXT has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic to be 
rerouted; (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

[[Page 42242]]

Surface Transportation 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 report), 49 CFR 1105.8 
(historic report), 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 meet.
    As a condition to 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. 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 August 6, 
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 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by July 19, 2004. Petitions to 
reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must 
be filed by July 27, 2004, with: Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.\4\
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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 1102.2(f)(25).
    \4\ Each trail use request must be accompanied by the filing 
fee, which currently is set at $200. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(27).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to the 
applicant's representative: Louis E. Gitomer, 1455 F Street, NW., Suite 
225, Washington, DC 20005.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    CSXT 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 July 12, 
2004. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA 
(Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or 
by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1539. (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), CSXT 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 CSXT's filing of a notice of 
consummation by July 7, 2005, 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: June 29, 2004.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-15936 Filed 7-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P