[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 54 (Friday, March 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13121-13122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 34475]


Watco Companies, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--Great 
Northwest Railroad, Inc.

    Watco Companies, Inc. (Watco), a noncarrier, has filed a verified 
notice of exemption to continue in control of Great Northwest Railroad, 
Inc. (GNR), upon GNR's becoming a Class III rail carrier.
    The transaction was scheduled to be consummated on or shortly after 
February 27, 2004, the effective date of the exemption.
    The transaction is related to STB Finance Docket No. 34474, Great 
Northwest Railroad, Inc.--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--Camas 
Prairie RailNet, Inc., wherein: (1) GNR seeks to acquire from Camas 
Prairie RailNet, Inc. (CPR) and operate approximately 179 miles of rail 
line located in the States of Idaho and Washington, and (2) GNR will 
acquire by assignment from CPR incidental overhead trackage rights over 
a 15.1-mile rail line in Washington owned by the Union Pacific Railroad 
Company (UP), for the purpose of interchanging traffic with UP and The 
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF).
    Watco owns 100 percent of the issued and outstanding stock of GNR, 
and controls through stock ownership and management seven other Class 
III rail carriers: South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad Company (SKO), 
Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad, Inc. (PRCC), Timber Rock 
Railroad, Inc. (TIBR), Stillwater Central Railroad (SLWC), Eastern 
Idaho Railroad, Inc. (EIRR), Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, Inc. (K&O), 
and Pennsylvania Southwestern Railroad, Inc (PSWR).\1\
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    \1\ SKO's lines are located in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma; 
PRCC's lines are located in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; TIBR's 
lines are located in Texas and Louisiana; SLWC's lines are located 
in Oklahoma; EIRR's lines are located in Idaho; K&O's lines are 
located in Kansas and Colorado; and PSWR's line is located in 
Pennsylvania.
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    As pertinent here, EIRR's lines are located in the eastern and mid-
southern parts of Idaho, and are a substantial distance from the lines 
being acquired by GNR. PRCC's Idaho line extends westward from 
Potlatch, ID, approximately 50 miles north of the line being acquired 
by GNR. PRCC owns and operates several branch lines north of Hooper, 
WA, and east of Wallula, WA, and has operating rights over UP's rail 
line \2\ between Attalia, WA, and Hooper, which traverses Ayer, WA. The 
line being acquired by GNR extends eastward from Riparia, WA, to 
Lewiston, ID, and the incidental overhead trackage rights being 
acquired by GNR are over the UP line located between Riparia and 
Ayer.\3\
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    \2\ Those rights, however, are limited to overhead movements of 
grain and do not permit the interchange of traffic along the route.
    \3\ Those trackage rights, however, are limited to traffic being 
interchanged by GNR with either UP or BNSF and, thus, preclude any 
direct interchange of traffic between GNR and PRCC.
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    Watco states that: (i) The rail lines of GNR will not connect with 
any of the lines of the railroads under its control or within its 
corporate family, (ii) the transaction is not a part of a series of 
anticipated transactions that would connect GNR with any other railroad 
in its corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a 
Class I railroad. Therefore, the transaction is exempt from the prior 
approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
    Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption 
authority to relieve a rail carrier of its statutory obligation to 
protect the interests of its employees. Section 11326(c), however, does 
not provide for labor protection for transactions under sections 11324 
and 11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers. Because this 
transaction involves Class III rail carriers only, the Board, under the 
statute, may not impose labor protective conditions for this 
transaction.
    If the notice contains false or misleading information, the 
exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 
U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a petition to 
revoke will not automatically stay the transaction.
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 34475, must be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a 
copy of each pleading must be served on: Karl Morell, Suite 225, 1455 F 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005.

[[Page 13122]]

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

    Decided: March 10, 2004.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-5994 Filed 3-18-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P