[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 171 (Friday, September 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45889-45890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20764]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-286 (Sub-No. 6X)]


The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway Corporation--
Abandonment Exemption--in Oneida County, NY

    The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway Corporation (NYS&W), 
has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F-
Exempt Abandonments to abandon a .42-mile segment of its Fay Street 
Branch rail line between milepost 284.80 at or near Oswego Street in 
Utica, and milepost 285.22 at or near Warren Street in Utica, in Oneida 
County, NY. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 
13502.
    NYS&W has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the 
line;\1\ (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 report), 49 
CFR 1105.8 (historic report), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 
CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR

[[Page 45890]]

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met.
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    \1\ NYS&W states that no local or overhead traffic has moved 
over the line for more than 15 years and that any previous overhead 
traffic has long been rerouted.
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    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 October 7, 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 
September 14, 2009. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 24, 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).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
NYS&W's representative: Eric M. Hocky, One Commerce Square, 2005 Market 
Street, Suite 1000, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NYS&W has filed both an environmental report and a historic report 
that address the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by September 11, 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), NYS&W 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 NYS&W's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 4, 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: August 25, 2009.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. E9-20764 Filed 9-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P