[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 79726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31291]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 339X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in 
Gaston County, NC

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon approximately 0.5 miles of rail line between milepost HG 37.50 
(near the line's crossing of Brooks Road) and milepost HG 38.00 (north 
of Robinson Road), in Crowders (Gastonia), Gaston County, N.C.\1\ The 
line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 28052.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ NSR states that it is seeking to abandon the line segment to 
permit removal of a bridge over Robinson Road/SR 2416 to facilitate 
widening of that state highway, thereby alleviating an existing road 
clearance restriction and a related roadway safety concern.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    NSR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least two years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
line for at least two years and overhead traffic, if there were any, 
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 January 30, 2014, 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 
January 10, 2014. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 21, 2014, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 January 3, 2014. 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 December 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: December 24, 2013.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-31291 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P