[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19523-19524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8170]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 323X)]


The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Saint Bernard Parish, LA

    The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company (AGS),\1\ filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F-Exempt 
Abandonments to abandon a 3.50-mile rail line between mileposts 1.00-PT 
and 4.50-PT, near Toca, in Saint Bernard Parish, La.\2\ The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 70085.
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    \1\ AGS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway 
Company.
    \2\ Service on the line (plus an additional segment between 
mileposts 0.00-PT and 1.00-PT) was discontinued in 2006 pursuant to 
Board authorization in Alabama Great Southern Railroad--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Saint Bernard Parish, La., 
Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 273X) (served July 18, 2006).
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    AGS has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years, and that overhead traffic, if there were 
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 (Board) or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in 
favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements 
at 49 CFR 1105.7(c) (environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal 
letter), 49 CFR

[[Page 19524]]

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 May 7, 2011, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\4\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
April 18, 2011. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 27, 2011, with 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001.
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    \3\ 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.
    \4\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently 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 AGS's 
representative: Greg E. Summy, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 
23510.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    AGS has filed a combined environmental and historic report which 
addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment 
and historic resources. OEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) 
by April 12, 2011. 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 (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), AGS 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 AGS's filing of a notice of 
consummation by April 7, 2012, 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: April 1, 2011.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-8170 Filed 4-6-11; 8:45 am]
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