Norfolk Southern Railway CompanyAbandonment Exemptionin Oconee County, SC

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 155X)]

Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in

Oconee County, SC

Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) has filed a notice of

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

1.26 miles of its line of railroad between milepost Z-42.6 at West

Union and milepost Z-43.86 at Walhalla, in Oconee County, SC. The lines

traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 29691.

NS has 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 during the past 2 years and any overhead traffic 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

(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 November

26, 1999, 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

November 8, 1999. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use

conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 16, 1999,

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.(f)(25).

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

applicant's representative: James R. Paschall, General Attorney,

Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA

23510.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,

the exemption is void ab initio.

NS has filed an environmental report which addresses the

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

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

environmental assessment (EA) by November 1, 1999. 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), NS 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 NS's filing of a notice of consummation by October

27, 2000, 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: October 18, 1999.

[[Page 57927]]

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

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-27780 Filed 10-26-99; 8:45 am]

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