83 FR 1093 - CSX Transportation, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Fulton County, GA

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 6 (January 9, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 1093]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00210]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 55 (Sub-No. 777X)]


CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Fulton 
County, GA

    CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR part 1152, subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to 
abandon an approximately 4.40-mile rail line, referred to as the A&WP 
Subdivision, in its Southern Region, Atlanta Division, Atlanta Terminal 
between milepost XXC 0.0, which begins at the switch to the Norfolk 
Southern Railway Company, Oakland Junction near the Ormewood Station, 
and ends at milepost XXC 4.4 near Glenwood Ave. SE, in the City of 
Atlanta, Fulton County, Ga. (the Line). The Line traverses United 
States Postal Zip Codes 30310, 30312, and 30315, and includes no 
stations.
    CSXT has certified that: (1) No local rail traffic has moved over 
the Line during the past two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the 
Line can be rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by 
a user of a 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 is either pending with the Surface Transportation Board 
(Board) or with any U.S. District Court or had been decided in favor of 
a complainant within the two-year period; and (4) the requirements at 
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 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) has been received, this exemption will be 
effective on February 8, 2018, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\1\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\2\ 
must be filed by January 19, 2018. Petitions to reopen or requests for 
public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 29, 
2018, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20423-0001.\3\
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    \1\ 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.
    \2\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which 
currently is 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).
    \3\ CSXT states that it is working on agreement with Atlanta 
Beltline, Inc. to transfer the corridor and convert the Line to a 
trail under a notice of interim trail use or abandonment (NITU) 
agreement contingent on Board approval for authority to abandon.
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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 January 12, 2018. 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 January 9, 2019, 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 website at 
``WWW.STB.GOV.''

    Decided: January 4, 2018.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018-00210 Filed 1-8-18; 8:45 am]
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