[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6175-6176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02145]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 355X)]


The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company--
Abandonment Exemption--in Scott County, Tenn.

    The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company 
(CNOTP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway Company, 
has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart 
F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon approximately 12.63 miles of rail 
line from milepost NR 0.0 at New River to milepost NR 12.63 at 
Sterling, in Scott County, Tenn. (the Line).\1\ The Line traverses 
United States Postal Service Zip Codes 37755 and 37852.
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    \1\ CNOTP states that, following abandonment, CNOTP intends to 
convey the Line, its legal rights to the right-of-way, in addition 
to six bridges that are located on the Line, to KT Group, L.L.C. 
(the Group). CNOTP also states that the Group will be required, by 
contract, to abide by all of the Board's environmental conditions 
when performing salvage activities on the Line.
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    CNOTP 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 that 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

[[Page 6176]]

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 March 6, 2015, 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 17, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 \4\ must be filed by February 24, 2015, 
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).
    \4\ According to CNOTP, it may not have the legal right to 
convey the corridor for re-deployment for possible alternative 
public use because CNOTP does not have fee title to the entire 
right-of-way underlining the Line proposed for abandonment. CNOTP 
states that it is unaware of any restrictions on the title to the 
right-of-way that would affect the transfer of title or the use of 
property for other than rail purposes. CNOTP also states that 
because of the title uncertainty, CNOTP has no opinion whether the 
right-of-way would be suitable for other public purposes.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
CNOTP's representative: William A. Mullins, 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.
    CNOTP 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 February 9, 2015. 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), CNOTP 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 CNOTP's filing of a notice of 
consummation by February 4, 2016, 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 30, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-02145 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P