Railroad services abandonment: Norfolk & Western Railway Co.,

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Federal Register: May 4, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 85)NoticesPage 24589-24590From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr04my98-135

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

STB Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 200X)Norfolk and Western Railway Company; Abandonment Exemption; in Dickenson and Buchanan Counties, VA

Norfolk and Western Railway Company (NW) has fileda notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon 3.34 miles of its line of railroad between milepost CL-13.56 at Duty and milepost CL-16.90 at Clinchfield Coal in Dickenson and Buchanan Counties, VA.<SUP>1</SUP> The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 24217 and 24066.

\1\ On April 23, 1998, NW informed the Board that the actual mileage for the line is 3.34 miles instead of 3.3 miles as stated in its verified notice.

NW has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic on the line can be rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filedby 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 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR

[Page 24590]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 R. Co.--Abandonment-- Goshen, 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, this exemption will be effective on June 3, 1998, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,<SUP>2</SUP> formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),<SUP>3</SUP> and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filedby May 14, 1998. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by May 26, 1998, with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423. A copy of any petition filedwith the Board should be sent to applicant's representative: James R. Paschall, General Attorney, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510.

\2\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's Section of Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. See Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request for a stay should be filedas soon as possible so that the Board may take appropriate action before the exemption's effective date.

\3\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is set at $1000. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio.

NW has filedan environmental report which addresses the abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by May 8, 1998. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1545. Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must be filedwithin 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), NW 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 NW's filing of a notice of consummation by May 4, 1999, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire.

Decided: April 23, 1998.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary.

FR Doc. 98-11517Filed5-1-98; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 4915-00-P

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