[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 835-836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33806]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 312 (Sub-No. 3X)]


South Carolina Central Railroad Company, LLC--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Chesterfield and Darlington Counties, SC

    South Carolina Central Railroad Company, LLC (SCRF) has filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 subpart F--Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon approximately 12.8 miles of rail line between 
milepost 319.89 +/- (centerline of Burlington Drive road crossing), 
near Society Hill, and extending in a northerly direction to milepost 
332.68 (south line of Market Street), including other legs of wye track 
extending westerly to milepost 332.48 (east line of U.S. Route 1), in 
Cheraw, in Chesterfield and Darlington Counties, S.C. The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 29709 and 29593.
    SCRF 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 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 2-year period. SCRF has further certified that 
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 February 5, 2012, 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\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
January 17, 2012. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 26, 2012, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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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 $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
SCRF's representative: Melanie B. Yasbin, 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.
    SCRF 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 13, 2012. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by 
writing to OEA (Room 1100, Surface

[[Page 836]]

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 (FIRS) at 1-(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), SCRF 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 SCRF's filing of a notice of 
consummation by January 6, 2013, 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 http://www.stb.dot.gov.


    Decided: December 29, 2011.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-33806 Filed 1-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P