Atlantic and Western Railway, Limited Partnership-Abandonment Exemption-in Lee County, NC
| Published date | 25 October 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 58995 |
| Record Number | 2021-23162 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Surface Transportation Board |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 203 (Monday, October 25, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 203 (Monday, October 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58995-58996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23162]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 646 (Sub-No. 1X)]
Atlantic and Western Railway, Limited Partnership--Abandonment
Exemption--in Lee County, NC
Atlantic and Western Railway, Limited Partnership (ATW), has filed
a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon a rail line between approximately milepost 2.71
and milepost 3.76 in Sanford, NC (the Line). There are no stations on
the Line. The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 27330 and
27332.
ATW has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the
Line since 2016; (2) because the Line is not a through line, there is
no overhead traffic on the Line that would need to be rerouted; (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 a complainant within the two-year period;
and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) and 1105.8(c) (notice of
environmental and historic reports), 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 November 24, 2021, 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 November 4, 2021.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for
public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November
15, 2021.
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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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All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 646 (Sub-No. 1X), should
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the
Board's website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on
ATW's representative, Eric M. Hocky, Clark Hill PLC, Two Commerce
Square, 2001 Market Street, Suite 2620, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
ATW 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 October 29, 2021. The Draft EA
will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by
writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. 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.
[[Page 58996]]
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), ATW 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 ATW's filing of a notice of
consummation by October 25, 2022, 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: October 19, 2021.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Brendetta Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-23162 Filed 10-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
