[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3839-3840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1515]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 167 (Sub-No. 1191X); Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 710X); 
Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 552X)]


Consolidated Rail Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Philadelphia, PA; CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Service 
Exemption--in Philadelphia, PA; Norfolk Southern Railway Company--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Philadelphia, PA

    Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), CSX Transportation, Inc. 
(CSXT), and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) (collectively, 
applicants) jointly have filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 
CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of 
Service for Conrail to abandon, and for CSXT and NSR to discontinue 
service over, a 2.98-mile line of railroad known as the Berks Street 
Industrial Track, extending from milepost 0.00  to milepost 
2.98  in Philadelphia, Pa.\1\ The line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 19122, 19123 and 19134.
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    \1\ Applicants state that Conrail has ownership of the line 
extending from milepost 2.70 to milepost 2.98 but only has operating 
rights from milepost 0.00 to milepost 2.70. The portion over which 
Conrail retains only operating rights was sold to the City of 
Philadelphia in 1978.
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    Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over 
the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic that has moved 
or could move over the line can be rerouted; (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 a 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 discontinuances 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 February 24, 2012, 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 
February 6, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by February 14, 2012, 
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 
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemptions' 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 exemptions' effective 
date.
    \3\ 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: Benjamin C. Dunlap, Jr., Esquire, Nauman, 
Smith, Shissler and Hall, LLP, 200 North Third Street, 18th Floor, 
Harrisburg, PA 17101.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have filed a combined environmental and historic report 
that addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and 
discontinuances on the environment and historic resources. OEA will 
issue an environmental assessment (EA) by January 30, 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 (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), Conrail shall 
file a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the

[[Page 3840]]

authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If consummation has not 
been effected by Conrail's filing of a notice of consummation by 
January 25, 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 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: January 20, 2012.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-1515 Filed 1-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P