Notice2024-27068
Norfolk Southern Railway Company-Abandonment Exemption-in the City of Baltimore, MD.
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
November 20, 2024
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 91869-91870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27068]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 412X)]
Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in the
City of Baltimore, MD.
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice
of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to
abandon its freight rail easement over an approximately one-mile rail
line extending from milepost <plus-minus>UU 0.00 to milepost <plus-
minus>UU 1.00 in the City of Baltimore, Md. (the Line). The Line
traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 21201 and 21211.
According to the verified notice, the Maryland Transit
Administration (MTA) owns the Line and currently operates passenger
rail transit service over it.\1\ NSR states that MTA's passenger
services will continue after NSR abandons its easement. NSR therefore
asserts that the corridor is not available for alternative public
use(s). NSR also states that, based on these unique considerations, it
does not intend to negotiate for trail use/railbanking.
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\1\ The Board previously determined that MTA did not require
authorization from the Board's predecessor when MTA acquired the
Line in 1990 and that MTA had not become a common carrier on the
Line. See Md. Transit Admin.--Pet. for Declaratory Ord., FD 34975,
slip op. at 7-8 (STB served Oct. 9, 2007).
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NSR has certified that: (1) no local freight traffic has moved over
the Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the Line
can 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 on
behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line is
pending with either the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or any
U.S. District Court 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,\2\ this exemption will be
effective on December 20, 2024, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues \3\ must be
filed by November 29, 2024. Formal expressions of intent to file an OFA
under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) and interim trail use/railbanking requests
under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by December 2, 2024.\4\ Petitions to
reopen and requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must
be filed by December 10, 2024.
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\2\ 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).
\3\ 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.
\4\ 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 290 (Sub-No. 412X), must
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board either via e-filing on
the Board's website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be
served on NSR's representative, William A. Mullins, Mullins Law Group
PLLC, 2001 L St. NW, Suite 720, Washington, DC 20036.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
NSR 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 November 25, 2024. 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. If you require an
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call
(202) 245-0245. Comments on environmental or historic preservation
matters must be
[[Page 91870]]
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), NSR 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 NSR's filing of a notice of
consummation by November 20, 2025, 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: November 14, 2024.
By the Board, Valerie O. Quinn, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Brendetta Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2024-27068 Filed 11-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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