[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 55 (Friday, March 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15804-15805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06195]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35801]


Spencer N. Wendelin--Continuance in Control--RMW Ventures, LLC, 
Big Four Terminal Railroad, LLC, and Wabash Central Railway, LLC

    Spencer N. Wendelin (Applicant), a noncarrier individual, has filed 
a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in 
control of RMW Ventures, LLC (RMW) and Big Four Terminal Railroad, LLC 
(BFTR), a Class III rail carrier.
    Applicant states that he owns and controls both RMW and BFTR. 
Applicant also states that he owns and controls Wabash Central Railway, 
LLC (WCR), a Class III rail carrier. In 2010, BFTR filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to operate 5.2+/- miles of 
rail line owned by RMW located between milepost 0.0 in Connorsville, 
Ind., and milepost 5.2+/- in Beesons, Ind., in Fayette and Wayne 
Counties, Ind. Big Four Terminal R.R.--Operation Exemption--RMW 
Ventures, FD 35454 (STB served Dec. 30, 2010). According to Applicant, 
BFTR was incorporated to operate this 5.2-mile line of railroad in 
2010, at which time Applicant also owned and controlled RMW. Applicant 
states that, during the incorporation of BFTR, he inadvertently did not 
seek continuance in control authority involving BFTR. Applicant filed 
the verified notice of exemption with the Board to correct that 
oversight on February 12, 2014.

[[Page 15805]]

Applicant amended the notice on March 5, 2014.\1\ Thus, the effective 
date of the exemption is April 4, 2014 (30 days after the verified 
notice of exemption was filed).
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    \1\ Accordingly, March 5, 2014, is the official filing date. 
While the verified notice indicates that Applicant is seeking an 
exemption to authorize the continuance in control ``nunc pro tunc'' 
(retroactively), the authority will be effective prospectively from 
April 4, 2014. The class exemption invoked by Applicant does not 
provide for retroactive effectiveness.
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    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in RMW Ventures, LLC--Corporate Family Transaction--Big 
Four Terminal Railroad, LLC, Docket No. FD 35798, wherein RMW seeks 
Board approval to acquire the stock of BFTR and WCR.
    Applicant represents that: (1) The rail lines of RMW, BFTR, and WCR 
do not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate 
family; (2) the continuance in control is not part of a series of 
anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each 
other or any railroads in their corporate family; and (3) the 
transaction does not involve a Class I carrier. Therefore, the proposed 
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 Sec. Sec.  
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 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 effectiveness of the exemption. 
Stay petitions must be filed no later than March 28, 2014 (at least 7 
days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 35801, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each 
pleading must be served on Richard R. Wilson, 518 N. Center Street, 
Ste. 1, Ebensburg, PA 15931.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

    Decided: March 17, 2014.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-06195 Filed 3-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P