[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 153 (Thursday, August 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 44920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15346]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 295X); STB Docket No. AB-866 (Sub-No. 
1X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption-in Chowan 
County, NC; North Carolina & Virginia Railroad Company, Inc., The 
Chesapeake and Albemarle Division--Discontinuance of Service Exemption-
in Chowan County, NC

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) and North Carolina & 
Virginia Railway Company, Inc., The Chesapeake and Albemarle Division 
(NCVA) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and 
Discontinuances of Service for NSR to abandon, and for NCVA to 
discontinue service over, approximately 0.08 miles of railroad between 
approximately milepost NS 73.50 and milepost NS 73.67 in Edenton, 
Chowan County, NC. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip 
Code 27932, and includes the station of Edenton.
    NSR and NCVA have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved 
over the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the 
line 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 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 of 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 met.
    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 September 8, 2007, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
August 20, 2007. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by August 29, 2007, with: 
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E. Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
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    \1\ 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 exemptions' 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 exemptions' 
effective date.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which 
currently is set at $1,300. 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' representatives: James R. Paschall, Three Commercial Place, 
Norfolk, VA 23510 and Louis E. Gitomer, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 
301, Towson, MD 21204-4022.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    NSR and NCVA have filed an environmental and historic 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 August 14, 2007. Interested persons may obtain a 
copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation 
Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at (202) 245-0305. 
[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), NSR 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 NSR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by August 9, 2008, 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: August 1, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-15346 Filed 8-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P