[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47339-47340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19387]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 794X)]
CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Pinellas
County, Fla.
CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon an approximately 0.86-mile rail line on its Clearwater
Subdivision, between milepost ARE 897.57 and milepost ARE 898.43, in
St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Fla. (the Line). The Line traverses
U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 33701, 33705, and 33713.
CSXT has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic can 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 1105.12 (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,\1\ this exemption will be
effective on October 9, 2019, 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 19, 2019. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 30, 2019,
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC
20423-0001.
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\1\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA must first file a
formal expression of intent to file an offer, indicating the type of
financial assistance they wish to provide (i.e., subsidy or
purchase) and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially
responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
\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\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
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[[Page 47340]]
A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to
CSXT's representative: Louis E. Gitomer, Law Offices of Louis E.
Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
CSXT 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 13, 2019. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA
on the Board's website, by writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202)
245-0305. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the
Federal 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), CSXT 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 CSXT's filing of a notice of
consummation by September 9, 2020, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.
Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: September 4, 2019.
By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2019-19387 Filed 9-6-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P