[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46412-46413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18376]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 326X); Docket No. AB 1093X]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Henry 
County, Ind.; C&NC Railroad Corporation--Discontinuance of Service 
Exemption--in Henry County, IN.

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) and C&NC Railroad 
Corporation (CNUR) (collectively, applicants) have jointly filed a 
verified notice of exemption \1\ under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F-Exempt 
Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for NSR to abandon, and for 
CNUR to discontinue service over, approximately 0.88 miles of non-
contiguous rail line segments in New Castle, in Henry County, Ind., as 
follows: (1) Approximately 0.12 miles of rail line extending between 
milepost R 0.00 (near Broad Street) and milepost R 0.1205 (near the 
intersection of S. 16th St. and Indiana Ave.); and (2) approximately 
0.76 miles of rail line extending between milepost R 1.1629 (near the 
intersection of Cherrywood Avenue and M Avenue) and milepost R 1.92 
(near the intersection of Cherrywood Avenue and Riley Road).\2\ The 
line segments traverse United States Postal Service Zip Code 47362.
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    \1\ Applicants initially filed the notice of exemption on April 
26, 2013. By letter filed on June 14, 2013, applicants requested 
that the proceedings be held in abeyance, and, on the same date, the 
Board granted applicants' request. On July 11, 2013, applicants 
submitted an amended notice of exemption.
    \2\ According to applicants, the line segments are part of the 
same rail line but are separated by an approximately 1.04-mile 
middle line segment, which will not be abandoned and which will 
continue to connect with other rail lines.
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    Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over 
the line segments for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has 
moved over the line segments for at least two years, and if there were 
any overhead traffic, it could be rerouted over other lines; (3) no 
formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line segments 
(or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such 
user) regarding cessation of service over the line segments 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 
two-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 August 30, 2013, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do

[[Page 46413]]

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 August 12, 2013. 
Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 
1152.28 must be filed by August 20, 2013, 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 $1,600. 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' representatives: Robert A. Wimbish, Baker & Miller PLLC, 
2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037, and 
Richard R. Wilson, 518 Center St., Suite 1, Ebensberg, PA 15931.
    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 
discontinuance on the environment and historic resources. OEA will 
issue an environmental assessment (EA) by August 5, 2013. 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), NSR shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line segments. 
If consummation has not been effected by NSR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by July 31, 2014, 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: July 26, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-18376 Filed 7-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P