[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 3103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-908]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 259X)]


Tennessee Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Anderson and 
Campbell Counties, TN

    Tennessee Railway Company (TNR) \1\ has filed a notice of exemption 
under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 14.04-mile 
line of railroad between milepost TE-27.96 at Nick's Creek and milepost 
TE-42.00 at Devonia, in Anderson and Campbell Counties, TN. The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 37710.
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    \1\ TNR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway 
Company (NSR).
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    TNR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years and overhead traffic, if there were any, 
could 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 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 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 government agencies) 
have been met.
    As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected 
by this 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 February 18, 2005,\2\ unless stayed pending 
reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental 
issues,\3\ formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 
1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 
1152.29 must be filed by January 31, 2005.
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    \2\ TNR has requested that the Board treat the notice of 
exemption as being filed on December 30, 2004, rather than the 
actual date the applicant filed it, December 29, 2004. The Board 
will set December 30, 2004 as the filing date and use this date to 
compute the due dates in this proceeding.
    \3\ 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.
    \4\ Effective October 31, 2004, the filing fee for an OFA 
increased to $1,200. See Regulations Governing Fees for Services 
Performed in Connection with Licensing and Related Services--2004 
Update, STB Ex Parte No. 542 (Sub-No. 11) (STB served Oct. 1, 2004).
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    Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 
CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 8, 2005, with: the Surface 
Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NSR's 
representative: James R. Paschall, Norfolk Southern Railway Company, 
Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    TNR has filed an environmental report which addresses the effects, 
if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. 
SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by January 24, 2005. 
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), TNR 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 TNR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 19, 2006, 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: January 11, 2005.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-908 Filed 1-18-05; 8:45 am]
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