[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 143 (Friday, July 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43531-43532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17526]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35837]


Patrick D. Broe, OmniTRAX, Inc., and OmniTRAX Holdings, LLC--
Continuance in Control Exemption--Brownsville & Rio Grande 
International Railway, LLC

    Patrick D. Broe (Mr. Broe), OmniTRAX, Inc. (OmniTRAX), and OmniTRAX 
Holdings, LLC (Omni Holdings) (collectively, Applicants), have filed a 
verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to 
continue in control of Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway, 
LLC (BRGIR), a noncarrier, upon BRGIR's becoming a common carrier.\1\
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    \1\ The verified notice of exemption indicates that Mr. Broe is 
a noncarrier who directly controls noncarrier OmniTRAX, which 
directly controls Omni Holdings, a holding company that controls 11 
Class III carriers. Mr. Broe also controls five other Class III 
carriers indirectly through other entities.
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    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway, LLC--
Change In Operator Exemption Including Interchange Commitment--
Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad, Docket No. FD 35836, 
in which BRGIR seeks an exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to change 
operators from Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad (BRG) to 
BRGIR over certain rail lines currently operated by BRG in and around 
the seaport facilities of the Brownsville Navigation District of 
Cameron County, Tex., (the District) at the Port of Brownsville, 
Tex.\2\
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    \2\ Specifically, under the transaction contemplated in Docket 
No. FD 35836, (1) BRGIR will become the operator of 10.5 miles of 
rail line and 39.5 miles of ancillary track (collectively, the 
District Trackage) in and around the Port of Brownsville, including 
Palo Alto Yard; (2) BRG will assign to BRGIR its leasehold interests 
in a rail line owned by Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) known as 
the ``Port Lead'' between milepost 2.20 near Arthur Street in 
Brownsville, Tex., and milepost 7.92 at a point of connection with 
the District Trackage at the western end of the Port of Brownsville; 
and (3) BRGIR will assume by assignment BRG's overhead trackage 
rights over UP's ``New Port Lead'' between milepost 7.49 and 
milepost 9.47, enabling BRGIR to access Palo Alto Yard.
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    The earliest this transaction can be consummated is August 10, 
2014, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified 
notice was filed). Applicants indicate that they intend to consummate 
the proposed transaction on or about August 11, 2014.
    Applicants represent that: (1) BRGIR will not connect with any of 
the other railroads controlled by Omni Holdings or Mr. Broe, (2) the 
continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated 
transactions that would connect some or all of those railroads; and (3) 
the transaction does not involve a Class I rail carrier. 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 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 would not automatically stay the effectiveness of the exemption. 
Petitions for stay must be filed no later than August 1, 2014 (at least 
7 days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 35837, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each 
pleading

[[Page 43532]]

must be served on Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North 
Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606-2832.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.

    Decided: July 21, 2014.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-17526 Filed 7-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P