The Surface Transportation Board will grant Savannah Industrial Logistics’ petition for exemption for after-the-fact authority for the construction of a rail line located in an industrial park near Rincon, Georgia.
The line, which has no mileposts, extends from a connection with Norfolk Southern Railway near milepost 16.6 to a connection with CSX Transportation near milepost S484.0, a distance of roughly 11,404 feet.
In the same filing, SIT seeks an after-the-fact exemption, under section 10502, from the prior approval requirements to lease and operate the line under a lease with SIL. SIT and SIL are each holdings of OmniTRAX Holdings Combined.
On Dec. 27, 2023, the STB instituted a proceeding in both dockets. No comments opposing either petition have been filed.
The STB’s Office of Environmental Analysis issued a draft Environmental Assessment in both dockets on April 11, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of constructing and operating the line and requested public comments, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. A final Environmental Assessment, which incorporated the draft EA by reference and responded to the only comment received on the draft EA, was issued on May 23.
The final EA recommended that one environmental condition be imposed to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the potential environmental impacts of the after-the-fact construction, lease and operation of the line.
After considering both the merits of rail transportation and the potential environmental impacts, the STB will grant SIL’s petition for exemption for after-the-fact authority to construct the Line and SIT’s petition for exemption for after-the-fact authority to lease and operate the line, subject to the environmental mitigation measures recommended in the final EA.
