00-27440. Union Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Allegheny County, PA

Union Railroad Company (URR) has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F— Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances to abandon and discontinue service over its line of railroad known as the Rankin Branch extending from point of switch Survey Station 158+50 of Turnout MU-18, and extending from that point over and across the Rankin Hot Metal Bridge to a rail connection with the Railroad's so-called Wildcat Track at Survey Station 48+35 in the Borough of Rankin, Allegheny County, PA, a distance of 0.89 miles.^[1] The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 15120 and 15104.

URR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on 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 November 29, 2000, 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),^[3] and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by November 9, 2000. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by November 20, 2000, with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.

A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to applicant's representative: Christopher T. Como, Attorney and Assistant Secretary, Union Railroad Company, 135 Jamison Lane, Monroeville, PA 15146.

If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio.

URR 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 November 3, 2000. 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 [phone]. 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), URR 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 URR's filing of a notice of consummation by October 30, 2001, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire.

Decided: October 19, 2000.

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

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.50(d)(2), the railroad must file a verified notice with the Board at least 50 days before the abandonment or discontinuance is to be consummated. While the applicant initially indicated a proposed consummation date of November 28, 2000, because the verified notice was filed on October 10, 2000, consummation may not take place prior to November 29, 2000. Applicant's representative has subsequently confirmed that the correct consummation date is on or after November 29, 2000.

2.  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.

3.  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).