E7-18831. CSX Transportation, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Niagara County, NY

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F— Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 1.57-mile line of railroad known as the Erie Industrial Track, on its Northern Region, Albany Division, Niagara Subdivision, extending from milepost QCJ 13.43 to milepost QCJ 15.0, in North Tonawanda, Niagara County, NY. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 14120. CSXT indicates that no stations will be impacted by the proposed abandonment.

CSXT has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years and overhead traffic, if there were any, could 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 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 October 26, 2007, unless stayed pending reconsideration.^[1] 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 October 9, 2007. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by October 16, 2007, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.

A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to CSXT's representative: Steven C. Armbrust, Esq., CSX Transportation, Inc., 500 Water Street, J-150, Jacksonville, FL 32202.

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

CSXT has filed environmental and historic reports addressing the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by October 1, 2007. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 1100, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at [phone]. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.] 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), CSXT 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 CSXT's filing of a notice of consummation by September 26, 2008, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire.

Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

Decided: September 18, 2007.

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

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  On September 10, 2007, B P Rail Corporation d/b/a BP Rail (BPR) filed a formal expression of intent to file an OFA to purchase the line. In this filing, BPR requests that CSXT provide BPR with the financial data and information prescribed in 49 CFR 1152.27(a). BPR also requests that the Board toll the time period for the filing of an OFA for an additional 60 days. The Board will address BPR's tolling request in a subsequent decision.

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 (SEA) 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 OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).