[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10645-10646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4878]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 300X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Wise 
County, VA

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon a 1.81-mile line of railroad between milepost CV 277.30 (Big 
Stone Gap) and milepost CV 279.11 (Appalachia), in Wise County, VA.\1\ 
The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 24216 and 
24219.
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    \1\ According to NSR, the proposed line for abandonment has been 
out of service since the late 1980s, when the owner, CSX 
Transportation, Inc., rerouted its traffic to NSR's line between Big 
Stone Gap and Frisco, TN.
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    NSR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) overhead traffic on the line, if 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 
(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 met.
    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 April 10, 2009, 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 
March 23, 2009.\4\ Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by March 31, 2009, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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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 $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \4\ NSR states that it is not aware of any restriction on the 
title to the right-of-way that would affect the transfer of title or 
the use of property for other than rail purposes but will provide 
full title information promptly if it receives a proposal to acquire 
the property for public purposes.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NSR's 
representative: James R. Paschall, Senior General Attorney, Norfolk 
Southern Corporation, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NSR has filed environmental and historic reports that address the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic 
resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by March 16, 
2009. 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

[[Page 10646]]

consummation has not been effected by NSR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by March 11, 2010, 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: February 27, 2009.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
 [FR Doc. E9-4878 Filed 3-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P