[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33652]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 331X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Henry 
and Spalding Counties, GA

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon approximately 4.92 miles of rail line between milepost 4.80 M 
(south of Meredith Park Drive near the line's crossing of Indian Creek 
in McDonough) and milepost 9.72 M (east of Trestle Road in Locust 
Grove), in Henry and Spalding Counties, Ga. The line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 30223, 30228, 30248, and 30253.
    NSR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic 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 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 this exemption, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment 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, this exemption will be 
effective on February 7, 2012, 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 
January 17, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 26, 2012, with 
the 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 
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.
    \2\ 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 NSR's 
representative: Robert A. Wimbish, 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 
300, Washington, DC 20037.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NSR has filed a combined environmental and historic report which 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by January 13, 2012. 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 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 January 6, 2013, 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: December 27, 2011.

    By the Board.
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-33652 Filed 1-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P