79 FR 232 pg. 71815 - Norfolk Southern Railway Company—Discontinuance of Service Exemption—in Adams and Scioto Counties, Ohio
Type: NOTICEVolume: 79Number: 232Page: 71815
Page: 71815Docket number: [Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 373X)]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2014-28222 Filed 12-2-14; 8:45 am]
Agency: Transportation Department
Sub Agency: Surface Transportation Board
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 373X)]
Norfolk Southern Railway Company-Discontinuance of Service Exemption-in Adams and Scioto Counties, Ohio
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F- Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over approximately 31.5 miles of rail line extending from milepost CT 73.50 at Plum Run to milepost 105.00 at Vera (West Portsmouth), in Adams and Scioto Counties, Ohio (the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 45652, 45657, 45660, and 45663.
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 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 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 1105.12 (newspaper publication) and 40 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 be effective January 2, 2015, 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 service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)1must be filed by December 15, 2014.2Petitions to reopen must be filed by December 23, 2014, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
Footnotes:
1 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
2 Because NSR is seeking to discontinue service, not to abandon the line, trail use/rail banking and public use conditions are not appropriate. Likewise, no environmental or historic documentation is required here under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and 49 CFR 1105.8(b), respectively.
A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to applicant'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.
Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at www.stb.dot.gov .
Decided: November 25, 2014.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-28222 Filed 12-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P