Notice2021-27470
Alabama & Florida Railway Co., Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Geneva, Coffee, and Covington Counties, Ala.
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 20, 2021
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 241 (Monday, December 20, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 241 (Monday, December 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72025-72026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27470]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1073 (Sub-No. 1X)]
Alabama & Florida Railway Co., Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in
Geneva, Coffee, and Covington Counties, Ala.
Alabama & Florida Railway Co., Inc. (A&F), has filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exemption
Abandonments to abandon approximately 42.9 miles of rail line between
milepost 581.3 at Andalusia, Ala., and milepost 624.2 at Geneva, Ala.
(the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 36340,
36420, 36421, 36453, 36467, and 36477.
A&F certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the Line
for at least two
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years; (2) there is no overhead traffic that has been, or would need to
be, rerouted as a result of the proposed abandonment; (3) no formal
complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Line (or by state or
local government on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service
over the Line either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board
(Board) or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the two-
year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) and 1105.8(c)
(notice of environmental and historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.12
(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to government
agencies) have been met.
As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected
by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line
Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, in
Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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,\1\ this exemption will be
effective on January 19, 2022, 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), and
interim trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be
filed by December 30, 2021.\3\ Petitions to reopen or requests for
public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 10,
2022.
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\1\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA must first file a
formal expression of intent to file an offer, indicating the type of
financial assistance they wish to provide (i.e., subsidy or
purchase) and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially
responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
\2\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date.
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. 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\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
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All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 1073 (Sub-No. 1X), should
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the
Board's website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on
A&F's representative, Crystal M. Zorbaugh, Baker & Miller PLLC, 2401
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
A&F has filed a combined environmental and historic report that
addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft
Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) by December 23, 2021. The Draft EA
will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by
writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. Assistance for the
hearing impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at
(800) 877-8339. Comments on environmental or historic preservation
matters must be filed within 15 days after the Draft 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), A&F 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 A&F's filing of a notice of
consummation by December 20, 2022, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.
Board decisions and notices are available at <a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>.
Decided: December 14, 2021.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-27470 Filed 12-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 20, 2021.
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