[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11631-11632]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5612]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board


 Consolidated Rail Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Hudson 
County, NJ [STB Docket No. AB-167 (Sub-No. 1189X)]; CSX Transportation, 
Inc.--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Hudson County, NJ [STB 
Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 686X)]; Norfolk Southern Railway Company--
Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Hudson County, NJ; [STB Docket 
No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 306X)]

    Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), CSX Transportation, Inc. 
(CSXT), and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) (collectively, 
applicants) have jointly filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 
CFR part 1152 Subpart F-Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of 
Service \1\ for Conrail to abandon, and for CSXT and NS to discontinue 
service over, an approximately 1.36-mile portion of a line of railroad 
known as the Harsimus Branch, between milepost 0.00, CP Waldo, and 
milepost 1.36, a point east of Washington Street, in Jersey City, 
Hudson County, NJ.\2\ The line traverses United States Postal Service 
Zip Codes 07302, 07306, and 07310.
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    \1\ On January 6, 2009, applicants previously filed a notice of 
exemption to abandon the same line of railroad. However, in a 
decision served on January 26, 2009, the notice was rejected without 
prejudice to refilling. The decision stated that applicants did not 
meet the prefiling notice requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) and 
1105.8(c).
    \2\ In City of Jersey City, Rails to Trails Conservancy, 
Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment Preservation 
Coalition, and New Jersey State Assemblyman Louis M. Manzo-Petition 
for Declaratory Order, STB Finance Docket No. 34818 (STB served 
August 9, 2007), the Board described the line as follows: Extending 
between milepost 1.3 near Luis Munoz Marin Boulevard (formerly 
Henderson Avenue) and milepost 2.54 near Waldo Avenue, in Jersey 
City, NJ.
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    Applicants have certified that: (1) No local or overhead traffic 
has moved over the property for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead 
traffic that has moved or could move over the property can be rerouted; 
(3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the property 
(or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such 
user) regarding cessation of service over the property either is 
pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. 
District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the 
2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental 
report), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic 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 these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or discontinuances 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, these exemptions will be 
effective on April 17, 2009, 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 
March 30, 2009. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by April 7, 2009, 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 
Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the abandonment exemption's 
effective date. See Exemption of Out-of-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.
    \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 
applicants' representatives: John K. Enright, 1717 Arch Street, 32nd 
Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, and Robert M. Jenkins III, Mayer Brown 
LLP, 1909 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemptions are void ab initio.
    Applicants have filed a joint combined environmental and historic 
report, which addresses the effects, if any, of the abandonment and 
discontinuances on the environment

[[Page 11632]]

and historic resources.\5\ SEA will issue an environmental assessment 
(EA) by March 23, 2009. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA 
by writing to SEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, 
DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, 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.
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    \5\ On March 12, 2008, Conrail originally filed an Environmental 
and Historic Report with the Board. In response to the comments 
generated by that report, applicants have filed a Supplemental 
Environmental and Historic Report.
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    Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), Conrail 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 Conrail's filing of a notice of 
consummation by March 18, 2010, 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: March 11, 2009.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.
 [FR Doc. E9-5612 Filed 3-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P