Consolidated Rail Corporation; Abandonment Exemption; in Philadelphia County, PA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-167 (Sub-No. 1183X)]

Consolidated Rail Corporation; Abandonment Exemption; in

Philadelphia County, PA

Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) has filed a notice of

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

0.42-mile portion of the Berks Street Industrial Track between milepost

2.98 and milepost 3.40, in the City of

[[Page 28447]]

Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA. The line traverses United States

Postal Service Zip Code 19140.

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

line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic moving over

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 June 21,

1998, 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 June 1,

1998. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under

49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by June 11, 1998, with: Surface

Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20423.

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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

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.

\2\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by

the filing fee, which currently is set at $1000. See 49 CFR

1002.2(f)(25).

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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, 2001 Market Street--16A, Philadelphia,

PA 19101-1416.

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 May 27, 1998. Interested persons may

obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface

Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA, at (202)

565-1545. 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), 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 May 22, 1999, 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 website at

``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

Decided: May 15, 1998.

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

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-13774 Filed 5-21-98; 8:45 am]

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