[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57681-57682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22794]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 341X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Polk 
County, Iowa

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon approximately 0.6 miles of non-contiguous rail line segments in 
Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, as follows: (1) Approximately 0.3 miles 
of rail line extending between milepost SD 336.8 at SE 26th Ct. and 
milepost SD 337.1 at Scott Ave. (the eastern segment); and (2) 
approximately 0.3 miles of rail line extending between milepost SD 
339.3 at E 6th Street and milepost SD 339.6 near E. 1st Street and the 
Des Moines River (the western segment).\1\ The line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 50309 and 50317.
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    \1\ According to NSR, the line segments are part of the same 
rail line but are separated by an approximately 2.0-mile middle line 
segment, which will not be abandoned and which will continue to 
connect with other rail lines.
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    NSR has 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 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 October 19, 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 
September 30, 2013. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 9, 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 September 24, 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 segments. 
If consummation has not been effected by NSR's filing of a notice of 
consummation by September 19, 2014,

[[Page 57682]]

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: September 16, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Derrick A. Gardner,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-22794 Filed 9-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P