[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49603-49604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19688]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 347X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Marengo County, Ala

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon approximately 0.8 miles of rail line between milepost 241.3 N 
(east of the line's crossing of the mouth of Devil's Run Slough where 
the slough joins the Black Warrior River) and milepost 242.1 N (near 
the intersection of Nash Ave. and E. Franklin St., in Demopolis), in 
Marengo County, Ala.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal Service 
Zip Code 36925.
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    \1\ NSR states that it is seeking abandonment to permit the 
removal of the remaining portion of the railroad bridge over the 
mouth of Devil's Run Slough at the request of the United States 
Coast Guard (USCG), because USCG views the bridge structure as an 
impediment to waterway navigation.
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    NSR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic

[[Page 49604]]

has moved over the line 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 (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 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 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 September 13, 2013, 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 
August 26, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 3, 2013, 
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 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.
    \3\ 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 NSR's 
representative: Robert A. Wimbish, Baker & Miller PLLC, 2401 
Pennsylvania Ave. 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 that 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by August 19, 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 at (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 August 14, 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: August 9, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-19688 Filed 8-13-13; 8:45 am]
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