82 FR 43447 - CSX Transportation, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-In Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties, WV

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 178 (September 15, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 43447]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19646]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 772X)]


CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--In Greenbrier 
and Nicholas Counties, WV

    CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon an approximately 14.4-mile rail line, known as the G&E 
Subdivision, in the Southern Region, Florence Division, between 
milepost CAJ 0.0 at the switch to the Sewell Valley Subdivision 
mainline track in Rainelle, and the end of the line at milepost CAJ 
14.43 about two miles northeast of Green Valley, in Greenbrier and 
Nicholas Counties, W. Va. (the Line).\1\ The Line traverses United 
States Postal Service Zip Codes 25962, 25981, and 26676 and includes 
the Quinwood station (FSAC 83070/SPLC 278129), the Bellburn station 
(FSAC 83062/SPLC 278121), and the Rainelle Jct. station (FSAC 83044/
SPLC 278176). CSXT states that these stations can be closed.
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    \1\ In the verified notice, CSXT states that, following 
abandonment, it plans to consummate the abandonment, reclassify the 
Line as a spur track, and lease it to a customer who plans to 
redevelop the site and use the track to reach its facility.
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    CSXT has certified that: (1) No local freight traffic has moved 
over the Line for at least two years; (2) because the Line is not a 
through route, no overhead traffic has operated; and, therefore, none 
needs to 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 1105.11 (transmittal 
letter), 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, this exemption will be 
effective on October 17, 2017, 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 
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be 
filed by September 25, 2017. Petitions to reopen or requests for public 
use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 5, 2017, 
with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \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\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,800. See Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. 
Performed in Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.--2017 
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. C at 20 (STB served July 
28, 2017).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 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 22, 2017. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA 
by writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, 
DC 20423-0001) or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0305. Assistance for the 
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information 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 15, 2018, and there are no legal or 
regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will 
automatically expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
WWW.STB.GOV.

    Decided: September 12, 2017.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017-19646 Filed 9-14-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P