E7-18827. CSX Transportation, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Shelby County, TN

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), has filed a notice of exemption ^[1] under 49 CFR Part 1152 Subpart F— Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 13.34-mile rail line on CSXT's Southern Region, Nashville Division, Memphis Terminal Subdivision, between milepost ONI 210.66 near Cordova and milepost ONI 224 in Memphis, known as the Cordova Branch, in Shelby County, TN.^[2] The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 38016, 38018, 38111, 38112, 38117, 38120, 38122, and 38134.

CSXT has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 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 entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending with the Surface Transportation 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 OFA has been received, this exemption will be effective on October 27, 2007, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,^[3] formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), ^[4] 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 17, 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, CSX Transportation, Inc., 500 Water St., J-150, Jacksonville, Florida 32202.

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

CSXT has filed both an environmental report and a historic report that address the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by October 2, 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 7, 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 19, 2007.

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

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  In its verified notice of exemption, CSXT states that the consummation date is October 10, 2007. However, because CSXT sought withdrawal of its notice on August 23, 2007, and then requested reinstatement of the notice on September 7, 2007, the filing date is considered to be September 7, 2007. Based on this filing date, the earliest date the abandonment can be consummated is October 27, 2007 (the effective date of the exemption). CSXT has been notified concerning this correction of the consummation date.

2.  By petition for exemption filed on August 21, 2007, and reinstated on September 7, 2007, CSXT is seeking an exemption from the offer of financial assistance (OFA) requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10904. The merits of the petition will be addressed in a separate decision.

3.  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.

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