[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 182 (Friday, September 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58418-58419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20629]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 409X)]


Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in the 
City of Clifton, Passaic County, NJ

    Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice 
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon an approximately 0.4-mile rail line extending from milepost IA 
12.5 to milepost IA 12.9 in the City of Clifton in Passaic County, N.J. 
(the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Code 07011.
    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 and 1105.8 (notice of environmental and historic report), 49 
CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice 
to governmental agencies) have been met.
    Any employee of NSR 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\ the exemption will be 
effective on October 18, 2020, 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), and 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by September 28, 2020.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for 
public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 8, 
2020, 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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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NSR'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.
    NSR has filed a combined environmental and historic report that 
addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the 
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft 
Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) by September 25, 2020. The Draft

[[Page 58419]]

EA will be available to interested persons 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 Draft EA becomes 
available to the public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or interim 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 September 18, 2021, 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 14, 2020.

    By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020-20629 Filed 9-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P