2024-10276. Athens Transportation Partners, LLC-Abandonment Exemption-in Clarke County, Ga.

Athens Transportation Partners, LLC (ATP), has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152.50 to abandon an approximately 6.5-mile rail line that runs from the northern end of the Oconee River trestle bridge in Athens-Clarke County at approximate milepost F-MP 98.8 (33°52′30.49″ N, 83°21′28.11″ W) to approximate milepost F-MP 105.3 (33°57′30.23″ N, 83°22′14.95″ W) in the north near East Broad Street in Athens, Clarke County, Ga. (the Line). The Line traverses U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 30601, 30602 and 30605.

ATP has certified that: (1) no local freight traffic has moved over the Line during the past nine years; (2) 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 (3) 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 June 12, 2024, 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 May 23, 2024.^[3] Petitions to reopen and requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by June 3, 2024.

All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 1332X, 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 ATP's representative, Paul A. Cunningham, Harkins Cunningham LLP, 1750 K St. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.

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

ATP 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 May 17, 2024. The Draft EA will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at [phone]. If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call [phone]. 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), ATP 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 ATP's filing of a notice of consummation by May 13, 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 www.stb.gov.

Decided: May 7, 2024.

By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.

Eden Besera,

Clearance Clerk.

Footnotes

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. See49 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.