§ 1152.24 - Filing and service of application.

§ 1152.24 Filing and service of application.

(a) An original and 10 copies of applications, typewritten or printed on paper approximately 81⁄2 inches by 11 inches with 11⁄2 inch left margin, The application shall be filed with the Chief, Section of Administration, Office of Proceedings, Washington, DC 20423-0001. The original application shall bear the date and signature and shall be complete in itself; the signature may be stamped or typed and the notarial seal may be omitted on the copies. A . The applicable filing fee must be paid by check, money order or payment by credit card payable to the Surface Transportation Board must also be submitted to cover the applicable filing fee, or through the Board's electronic payment system (see 49 CFR part 1002). If the applicant carrier is in bankruptcy, the application shall also be filed on the bankruptcy court.

(b) The applicant shall tender with its application an affidavit attesting to its compliance with the notice requirement of § 1152.20. The affidavit shall include the dates of service, posting, and publication of the notice.

(c) When the application is filed with the Board, the applicant shall serve, by first class mail, a copy on the Governor, the Public Service Commission (or equivalent agency), and the designated state agency of each state in which any part of the line of railroad sought to be abandoned or discontinued is situated. A copy of the application will be available for public inspection, on or after the date the abandonment application is filed with the Board, at each agency station or terminal on the line proposed to be abandoned or discontinued (if there is no agency station on the line, the application shall be deposited at any agency station through which business for the line is received or forwarded). A certificate of service shall be promptly filed with the Board.

(d) The applicant shall promptly furnish by first class mail a copy of the application to any interested person proposing to file a written comment or protest upon request. A certificate of service shall promptly be filed with the Board.

(e)

(1) The Board shall reject any abandonment or discontinuance application which does not substantially conform to the regulations in this subpart C regarding notice, form, and content, or which applies to a line which has not properly been published on the carrier's system diagram map (or included in a narrative in the case of a Class III carrier), in conformance with the regulations of subpart B of this part.

(2) Upon the filing of an abandonment or discontinuance application, the Board will review the application and determine whether it conforms with all applicable regulations. If the application is substantially incomplete or its filing otherwise defective, the Board shall reject the application for stated reasons by order (which order will be administratively final) within 20 days from the date of filing of the application. If the Board does not reject the application, notice of the filing of the application shall be published in the Federal Register by the Board, through the Director of the Office of Proceedings, within 20 days of the filing of the application.

(3) If the application is rejected, a revised application may be submitted, and the Board will determine whether the resubmitted application conforms with all prescribed regulations. A properly revised application submitted within 60 days of the order rejecting the incomplete or improper application need not be subjected to new notice and publication under § 1152.20, unless the defect causing the rejection was in the notice and/or publication. A revised application submitted after such 60-day period must be newly published and noticed.

(4) The resubmission of an abandonment or discontinuance application shall be considered a de novo filing for the purposes of computation of the time period for filing an offer of financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. 10904, and for other time periods prescribed in the regulations contained in this part (49 CFR part 1152), provided, that a resubmitted application is deemed complete and proper.

(5) An applicant may seek waiver of specific regulations listed in subpart C of this part by filing a petition for waiver with the Board. A decision by the Director of the Office of Proceedings granting or denying a waiver petition will be issued within 30 days of the date the petition is filed. Appeals from the Director's decision will be decided by the entire Board. If waiver is not obtained prior to the filing of the application, the application may be subject to rejection under paragraphs (e) (1) and (2) of this section.

(f) As provided in § 1152.29(e)(2), rail carriers authorized to abandon a line under 49 U.S.C. 10903 must file with the Board a notice that abandonment has been consummated.

[61 FR 67883, Dec. 24, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 34669, June 27, 1997; 64 FR 53268, Oct. 1, 1999; 74 FR 52909, Oct. 15, 2009; 84 FR 12945, Apr. 3, 2019]