[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 202 (Wednesday, October 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 64992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27041]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 145 (Sub-No. 1X); Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 715X)]


Carrollton Railroad--Abandonment Exemption--in Carroll County, KY 
CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in 
Carroll County, KY

    Carrollton Railroad (CRR) \1\ and CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) 
(collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments for CRR 
to abandon, and for CSXT to discontinue service over, approximately 
0.79 miles of rail line on CSXT's Northern Region, Louisville Division, 
LCL Subdivision, between mileposts 0CR 6.72 and 0CR 7.51, at the end of 
the track in Carrollton, Carroll County, KY.\2\ The line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Code 41008.
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    \1\ CRR is a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary of CSXT.
    \2\ CSXT states that empty cars are stored on the line 
temporarily because they are not needed in common carrier service at 
the present time. Once the line is abandoned, the cars will be 
stored at another location.
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    Applicants have 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; (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(c) (environmental 
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 Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & 
Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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 November 18, 2011, 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 
October 31, 2011. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 8, 2011, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \3\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on 
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently 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 
applicants' representative: Louis E. Gitomer, 600 Baltimore Ave., Suite 
301, Towson, MD 21204.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have filed a combined environmental and historic report 
which addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and 
discontinuance on the environment and historic resources. OEA will 
issue an environmental assessment (EA) by October 24, 2011. Interested 
persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to OEA (Room 1100, 
Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling 
OEA 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), CRR 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 CRR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by October 19, 2012, 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: October 13, 2011.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-27041 Filed 10-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P