Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 21, 2004 / Notices 76521

1The verified notice of exemption was received 

by the Board on November 19, 2004, but was not 

docketed as filed until November 24, 2004, when 

the filing fee for SRY was received. Applicants did 

not include a consummation date in the notice. 

However, by letter filed on November 30, 2004, 

applicants indicated a consummation date of 

January 13, 2005. By letter filed on December 1, 

2004, applicants requested to amend the notice to 

change the length of the line from 18.0 miles to 16.3 

miles, extending between west of Levee, milepost 

20.0, and Taft, milepost 36.3, in Kern County, CA. 

Upon consultation with applicants, December 1, 

2004 is used as the actual filing date. Applicants 

also indicated a new consummation date of January 

19, 2005. Under 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(2), the railroad 

must file a verified notice with the Board at least 

50 days before the abandonment or discontinuance 

is to be consummated. The amended notice was 

filed on December 1, 2004. Therefore, the earliest 

possible date consummation date is January 20, 

2005. By letter filed on December 13, 2004, 

applicants confirmed that the consummation date 

should be January 20, 2005. Applicants also 

indicated that, upon further review of their records 

and communication from Baker Petrolite 

Corporation (BPC), they have determined that BPC 

was an active shipper located at milepost 18.99, and 

have reduced the scope of the abandonment and 

discontinuance so as to continue to serve BPC. 

Applicants stated that, as per a December 1, 2004 

conversation with BPC, the reduction in the scope 

of abandonment and discontinuance resolved BPC’s 

concerns.

2 In the December 13, 2004 letter, applicants 

certified that the certification contained in their 

verified notice of exemption filed on November 19, 

2004, remains correct and accurate for the rail line 

between milepost 20.0 and milepost 36.3.

3The Board will grant a stay if an informed 

decision on environmental issues (whether raised 

by a party or by the Board’s Section of 

Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 

investigation) cannot be made before the 

exemption’s effective date. See Exemption of Outof-Service 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.

addition, the braking imbalance can 

affect the stability of the towing vehicle, 

which can result in a loss-of-control of 

the vehicle combination. 

The compliance testing by the 

petitioner resulted in seven of eight 

sample hose assemblies experiencing 

hose separation from the end fittings at 

from 224 to 317 pounds. This represents 

a noncompliance margin of from 45 

percent to 2 percent, respectively, 

compared to the requirement of 325 

pounds, over a total population of 

24,622 hose assemblies. NHTSA 

believes that a noncompliance margin of 

up to 45 percent presents a serious 

safety concern. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA has decided that the petitioner 

has not met its burden of persuasion 

that the noncompliance it describes is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

Accordingly, its petition is hereby 

denied. Coupled Products must now 

fulfill its obligation to notify and 

remedy under 49 U.S.C. 30118 (d) and 

30120(h).

Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h); delegations of authority at CFR 

1.50 and 501.8)

Issued on: December 15, 2004. 

Kenneth N. Weinstein, 

Associate Administrator for Enforcement.

[FR Doc. 04–27832 Filed 12–20–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Docket No. AB–398 (Sub–No. 9X)] 

San Joaquin Valley Railroad 

Company—Discontinuance 

Exemption—in Kern County, CA 

[STB Docket No. AB–170 (Sub-No. 1X)]

Sunset Railway Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in Kern 

County, CA

Sunset Railway Company (SRY) and 

San Joaquin Valley Railroad Company 

(SJVR) (collectively, applicants) have 

filed a notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1152 subpart F—Exempt 

Abandonments and Discontinuances of 

Service 1 for SRY to abandon and for 

SJVR to discontinue service over a 16.3-

mile line of railroad, known as the 

Sunset Subdivision, extending between 

west of Levee, milepost 20.0, and Taft, 

milepost 36.3, in Kern County, CA. The 

line traverses United States Postal 

Service Zip Code 93268.

SRY and SJVR have certified that: (1) 

No local traffic has moved over the line 

for at least 2 years; (2) there has been no 

overhead traffic on the line in over 2 

years and any overhead traffic 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 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 

(environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 

(historic reports), 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.2

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

abandonment shall be protected under 

Oregon Short Line R. Co.—

Abandonment—Goshen, 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 January 

20, 2005, 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), and 

trail use/rail banking requests under 49 

CFR 1152.29 must be filed by December 

30, 2004. Petitions to reopen or requests 

for public use conditions under 49 CFR 

1152.28 must be filed by January 10, 

2005, with: Surface Transportation 

Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, 

DC 20423–0001.

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to applicants’

representatives: Attorney for SRY—

Mack H. Shumate, Jr., Senior General 

Attorney, Union Pacific Railroad 

Company, 101 North Wacker Drive, 

Room 1920, Chicago, IL 60606; 

Attorneys for SJVR—Gary A. Laakso, 

Esq., Vice President Regulatory Counsel, 

RailAmerica, Inc., 5300 Broken Sound 

Boulevard NW., Second Floor, Boca 

Raton, FL 33487, and Louis E. Gitomer, 

Esq., Of Counsel, Ball Janik LLP, 1455 

F Street, NW., Suite 225, Washington, 

DC 20005. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio.

Applicants have filed environmental 

and historic reports which address the 

effects, if any, of the abandonment and 

discontinuance on the environment and 

historic resources. SEA will issue an 

environmental assessment (EA) by 

December 23, 2004. 

Interested persons may obtain a copy 

of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, 

Surface Transportation Board, 

Washington, DC 20423–0001) or by 

calling SEA, at (202) 565–1539. 

[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), SJVR 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 

SJVR’s filing of a notice of 

76522 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 21, 2004 / Notices 

1To ensure the continued availability of rail 

service to shippers on the line, the bankruptcy 

court, by a December 3, 2004 order, has approved 

an interim agreement between O&P and CCPR’s 

bankruptcy trustee, which would allow O&P to 

assume immediate operational control of the line.

consummation by December 21, 2005, 

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 14, 2004.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–27857 Filed 12–20–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34632] 

The Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad—

Acquisition and Operation 

Exemption—Rail Lines of Columbiana 

County Port Authority in Mahoning and 

Columbiana Counties, OH, and Beaver 

County, PA 

The Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad 

(O&P), a Class III rail carrier, has filed 

a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 

1150.41 to acquire (by lease) 

approximately 36 miles of rail line 

owned by the Columbiana County Port 

Authority (CCPA), between milepost 0.0 

at or near Youngstown, OH, and 

milepost 35.7 at or near Darlington, PA. 

The Central Columbiana and 

Pennsylvania Railway Company (CCPR) 

currently serves as the line’s operator 

pursuant to a track lease and operating 

agreement with CCPA. On June 14, 

2004, CCPR filed for bankruptcy 

protection before the U.S. Bankruptcy 

Court for the Eastern District of 

Arkansas, Little Rock Division (Case No. 

4:04–bk–16887 M, Chapter 11) 

(bankruptcy court). Pursuant to an 

agreement between CCPA, O&P, and the 

bankruptcy trustee for CCPR, O&P will 

acquire and operate the line by 

assuming CCPR’s rights, duties, and 

obligations under CCPR’s track lease 

and operating agreement with CCPA 

(including CCPR’s option to purchase 

the line in March 2006). The agreement 

is pending final approval from the 

bankruptcy court, which O&P expects 

will be granted before December 31, 

2004.1

The transaction is scheduled to be 

consummated on or after December 15, 

2004. O&P certifies that its projected 

revenues as a result of the transaction 

will not exceed those that would qualify 

it as a Class III rail carrier. 

This transaction is related to STB 

Docket No. AB–556 (Sub–No. 2X), 

Railroad Ventures, Inc.—Abanondment 

Exemption—Between Youngstown, OH, 

and Darlington, PA, in Mahoning and 

Columbiana Counties, OH, and Beaver 

County, PA, which involves the 

purchase of the line by CCPA pursuant 

to the offer of financial assistance 

provisions of 49 U.S.C. 10904 and 49 

CFR 1152.27. 

If this notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of 

a petition to revoke will not 

automatically stay the transaction. 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34632, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each 

pleading must be served on Kelvin J. 

Dowd, Slover & Loftus, 1224 

Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, 

DC 20036. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http://

www.stb.dot.gov.

Decided: December 14, 2004.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–27858 Filed 12–20–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34618] 

East Penn Railway, Inc.—Modified Rail 

Certificate 

On November 22, 2004, East Penn 

Railway, Inc. (East Penn), a Class III rail 

carrier, filed a notice for a modified 

certificate of public convenience and 

necessity under 49 CFR 1150, subpart C, 

Modified Certificate of Public 

Convenience and Necessity, to operate a 

portion of a rail line known as the 

Octoraro Branch (also referred to as Line 

142), extending for approximately 27.51 

miles between milepost 26.98 at Chadds 

Ford Junction, PA, and milepost 54.49 

at the Pennsylvania/Maryland state line 

near Sylmar, MD. 

The Octoraro Branch was previously 

owned by the Penn Central 

Transportation Company (Penn Central), 

and is currently owned by the 

Southeastern Pennsylvania 

Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The 

Octoraro Branch was not included in 

the final system plan at the time the 

Consolidated Rail Corporation was 

formed and, as such, was authorized to 

be abandoned without further regulatory 

approval pursuant to the Railroad 

Revitalization and Regulatory Reform 

Act of 1976, Public Law No. 94–210. 

SEPTA acquired the Octoraro Branch 

from the trustees of Penn Central after 

it was abandoned in 1976. 

East Penn states that, until recently, 

the line was operated by the Morristown 

& Erie Railway, Inc. (M&E), under an 

interim operating agreement that 

terminated on November 19, 2004, and 

that it proposes to replace M&E as the 

interim operator. See Morristown & Erie 

Railway, Inc.—Modified Rail Certificate, 

STB Finance Docket No. 34369 (STB 

served July 24, 2003). On November 18, 

2004, SEPTA and East Penn entered into 

an interim license agreement 

commencing on November 19, 2004. 

Under the operating agreement, East 

Penn will provide rail service over the 

Octoraro Branch from November 22, 

2004, through approximately December 

19, 2004, after which, East Penn plans 

to purchase the Octoraro Branch from 

SEPTA. The interim operating 

agreement will terminate at the transfer 

of ownership to East Penn. 

East Penn will initially provide rail 

service on an as-needed basis, and will 

expand service as customers and traffic 

increases. East Penn states that the 

Octoraro Branch will connect with ISG 

Railways, Inc. (ISG), at Chadds Ford 

Junction, PA, in order to connect with 

Norfolk Southern Railway Company 

(NS) at Coatesville, PA. ISG’s rail line 

also connects with the former Reading 

Railroad’s Wilmington & Northern line 

at the Delaware/Pennsylvania state line, 

providing East Penn access to both NS 

and CSX Transportation, Inc., at 

Wilmington, DE. 

The rail segment qualifies for a 

modified certificate of public 

convenience and necessity. See 

Common Carrier Status of States, State 

Agencies and Instrumentalities and 

Political Subdivisions, Finance Docket 

No. 28990F (ICC served July 16, 1981). 

East Penn indicates that: (1) There are 

no subsidizers; (2) there are no 

preconditions for shippers to meet to 

receive rail service; and (3) it has 

obtained liability insurance coverage. 

This notice will be served on the 

Association of American Railroads (Car 

Service Division) as agent for all 

railroads subscribing to the car-service 

and car-hire agreement: Association of