[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 94476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31041]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 391X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Discontinuance of Service 
Exemption--in Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties, VA

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and 
Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over an approximately 
15.5-mile rail line (the Line) extending from milepost B-84.0 at Mt. 
Jackson, Va. to milepost B-99.5 at Broadway, Va. in Rockingham and 
Shenandoah Counties, Va. The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip 
Codes 22815, 22842, 22844, 22847, and 22853.
    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; (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 is 
pending either with the Surface Transportation Board or with any U.S. 
District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the 
two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 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 discontinuance of service 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) to subsidize continued rail service has been 
received, this exemption will become effective on January 22, 2017, 
unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not 
involve environmental issues and formal expressions of intent to file 
an OFA to subsidize continued rail service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) 
\1\ must be filed by December 30, 2016.\2\ Petitions to reopen must be 
filed by January 12, 2017, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \1\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,700. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. 
Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.--2016 
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 24) (STB served Aug. 2, 2016).
    \2\ Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and not an 
abandonment, interim trail use/rail banking and public use 
conditions are not appropriate. Because there will be an 
environmental review during abandonment, this discontinuance does 
not require an environmental review.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NSR's 
representative: Crystal M. Zorbaugh, Baker & Miller PLLC, 2401 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
WWW.STB.GOV.

    Decided: December 20, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S Contee,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-31041 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P