[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79132-79133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31886]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 567 (Sub-No. 2X); Docket No. AB 568 (Sub-No. 2X)]


Rutherford Railroad Development Corporation--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Rutherford County, NC; Southeast Shortlines, Inc. d/b/a 
Thermal Belt Railway--Discontinuance Exemption--in Rutherford County, 
NC

    Rutherford Railroad Development Corporation (RRDC) and Southeast 
Shortlines, Inc. d/b/a Thermal Belt Railway (TBRY) (collectively, 
applicants), have jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 
CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of 
Service for RRDC to abandon, and for TBRY to discontinue service over, 
approximately 4.97 miles of rail line, between milepost SB 175.5 near 
Alexander Mills and milepost SB 180.47 in Spindale, together with a 
portion of the Bostic Spur, which runs from approximately the northern 
right of way line of U.S. 74 Business, a distance of approximately 
2,441.4' westerly to a point at or near Rail Milepost SF-407.40 and 
Rail Valuation Station 5343+22, in Rutherford County, N.C. (the Lines). 
The Lines traverse United States Postal Service Zip Codes 28043 and 
28160.
    Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over 
the Lines for at least two years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on 
the Lines that would have to be rerouted over other lines; (3) no 
formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Lines (or by a 
state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user) 
regarding cessation of service over the Lines 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 January 19, 2016, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
December 28, 2015. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 7, 2016, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \1\ 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.
    \2\ 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' representative: Jeffrey A. Bandini, Parker Poe Adams & 
Bernstein LLP, P.O. Box 389, Raleigh, NC 27602.
    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 December 24, 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 (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), RRDC shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the Lines. If 
consummation has not been effected by RRDC's filing of a notice of 
consummation by December 18, 2016,

[[Page 79133]]

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 15, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-31886 Filed 12-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P