Consolidated Rail CorporationAbandonment Exemptionin Madison County, IN

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-167 (Sub-No. 1173X)]

Consolidated Rail Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Madison

County, IN

Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) has filed a notice of

exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon a

portion of its line of railroad known as the Honey Creek Secondary

between milepost 120.65 and milepost 121.10 in the City of Anderson,

Madison County, IN.1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ The City of Anderson (City) filed a request for issuance of

a notice of interim trail use (NITU) for the line pursuant to

section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act, U.S.C. 1247(d). The

Board will address the City's trail use request, and any others that

may be filed, in a subsequent decision

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conrail has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the

line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the

line; (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 (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.

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 4, 1997, unless stayed pending reconsideration.

Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,2

formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR

1152.27(c)(2),3 and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR

1152.29 4 must be filed by December 16, 1996. Petitions to reopen

or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be

filed by December 26, 1996, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control

Branch, Surface Transportation Board, 1201 Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20423.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\2\ 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 in its independent investigation)

cannot be made before the 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.

\3\ See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4

I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).

\4\ The Board will accept late-filed trail use requests as long

as the abandonment has not been consummated and the abandoning

railroad is willing to negotiate an agreement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to

applicant's representative: John J. Paylor, Associate General Counsel,

Consolidated Rail Corporation, 20001 Market Street--16A, Philadelphia,

PA 19101-1416.

[[Page 64568]]

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

Conrail has filed an environmental report which addresses the

abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic

resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an

environmental assessment (EA) by December 10, 1996. Interested persons

may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 3219, Surface

Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling Elaine

Kaiser, Chief of SEA, at (202) 927-6248. 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.

Decided: November 26, 1996.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-30718 Filed 12-4-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915-00-P