[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 32 (Friday, February 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7709-7710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2439]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 34991]


Koch Industries, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--Moscow 
Camden and San Augustine Railroad LLC

    Koch Industries, Inc. (Koch Industries), a noncarrier, has filed a 
verified notice of exemption to indirectly continue in control of 
Moscow Camden and San Augustine Railroad LLC (MCSA), upon MCSA's 
becoming a Class III rail carrier.\1\
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    \1\ Simultaneously with this filing, Koch Industries filed a 
motion for a protective order. The motion is being addressed in a 
separate Board decision.
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    The transaction is scheduled to be consummated after the 
effectiveness of the exemption, and no earlier than March 2, 2007.

[[Page 7710]]

    The transaction is related to STB Finance Docket No. 34990, Moscow 
Camden and San Augustine Railroad LLC--Acquisition and Operation 
Exemption--Assets of Moscow, Camden & San Augustine Railroad, wherein 
Moscow Camden and San Augustine Railroad LLC seeks to acquire and 
operate the assets of Moscow, Camden & San Augustine Railroad.\2\ Upon 
the effectiveness of that exemption, MCSA will become an indirect 
wholly owned rail carrier subsidiary of Koch Industries.
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    \2\ Pursuant to an agreement dated December 21, 2006, between 
International Paper Company (International Paper), Georgia-Pacific 
Corporation (now Georgia-Pacific LLC) (Georgia-Pacific), and 
subsidiaries Georgia-Pacific Wood Products South LLC (Georgia-
Pacific South) and Georgia-Pacific Holdings LLC, Georgia-Pacific 
South has agreed to purchase International Paper's integrated 
plywood plant and lumber mill complex at Camden, TX. As part of the 
agreement, Georgia-Pacific South has also agreed to purchase the 
assets of Moscow, Camden & San Augustine Railroad, a 6.9-mile short 
line connecting International Paper's Camden complex with a line of 
Union Pacific Railroad Company at Moscow, TX. Prior to the closing 
of the transaction, Georgia-Pacific South will assign its right to 
acquire the assets of the Moscow, Camden & San Augustine Railroad to 
MCSA, which is expected to be formed as a Delaware limited liability 
company and to acquire and operate those assets.
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    Koch Industries currently controls three other Class III rail 
carriers: Gloster Southern Railroad Company LLC (GSR), Blue Rapids 
Railway Company LLC (BRR), and Old Augusta Railroad, LLC (OAR).\3\ GSR 
operates an approximately 35-mile rail line between Gloster, MS, and 
Slaughter, LA, where it connects with Canadian National Railway. GSR's 
direct parent is Georgia-Pacific Wood Products LLC, which is an 
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Georgia-Pacific. BRR operates an 
approximately 10-mile rail line between Marysville and Bestwall, KS, 
connecting at the Marysville end to Union Pacific Railroad Company. 
BRR's direct parent is Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC, which is an indirect 
wholly owned subsidiary of Georgia-Pacific. OAR operates an 
approximately 2.5-mile line between the Leaf River Pulp Mill in New 
Augusta, MS, and an interchange with Canadian National Railway in 
Mississippi. OAR's direct parent is GP Cellulose, LLC, which is an 
affiliate of Georgia-Pacific.
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    \3\ See Old Augusta Railroad, LLC--Acquisition and Operation 
Exemption--Assets of Old Augusta Railroad Company, STB Finance 
Docket No. 34493 (STB served Apr. 21, 2004); and Koch Forest 
Products, Inc. and Koch Industries, Inc.--Acquisition of Control 
Exemption--Gloster Southern Railroad Company and Blue Rapids Railway 
Company, STB Finance Docket No. 34784 (STB served Dec. 28, 2005).
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    Koch Industries states that: (i) The railroads will not connect 
with each other or any railroads within its corporate family, (ii) the 
transaction is not a part of a series of anticipated transactions that 
would connect any of these railroads with one another or any other 
railroad, 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. Accordingly, the 
Board may not impose labor protective conditions here, because all of 
the carriers involved are Class III carriers.
    If the verified 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. 
Petitions for stay must be filed no later than February 23, 2007 (at 
least 7 days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 34991, 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 David H. Coburn, 1330 
Connecticut Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20036.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: February 6, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-2439 Filed 2-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P