[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 131 (Thursday, July 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 39480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16799]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35939]


Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC and Permian Basin Railways--
Continuance in Control Exemption--Illinois Company Rail Road, LLC

    Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC (IPH) and its wholly owned subsidiary, 
Permian Basin Railways (PBR), have filed a verified notice of exemption 
pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of Illinois 
Company Rail Road, LLC (ICRR) upon ICRR's becoming a Class III rail 
carrier.
    In a concurrently filed verified notice of exemption, ICRR seeks 
Board approval to lease from North Central Mississippi Regional 
Railroad Authority (NCMRRA), a political subdivision and regional 
railroad authority, and Grenada Railway, LLC (GRYR), an existing Class 
III short line rail carrier, and to operate, an approximately 186.82-
mile rail line, consisting of (1) the Grenada Branch Line, an 
approximately 175.4-mile rail line extending between MP 403.0 near 
Southaven, Miss., (GRYR MP 491.09) and MP 703.8 near Canton, Miss., 
(GRYR MP 616.49); and (2) the connecting Water Valley Branch Line, an 
approximately 11.42-mile line extending between MP 614.42 at Bruce 
Jct., Miss., and the Water Valley Junction connection with the Grenada 
Branch Line at MP 603.0 (the Line). Ill. Co. R.R.--Lease & Operation 
Exemption--N. Cent. Miss. Reg'l R.R. Auth., Docket No. FD 35940.
    The transaction may be consummated on or after July 23, 2015 (the 
effective date of the exemption).
    IPH is a short line holding company that currently owns rail 
carriers in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, 
New York, Oregon, and Texas.
    IPH, PBH, and ICRR certify that: (1) The Line does not connect with 
any other railroads in the corporate family; (2) the transaction is not 
part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the 
Line with any other railroads in the corporate family; 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 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 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 effectiveness of the 
exemption. Stay petitions must be filed no later than July 16, 2015 (at 
least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 35939, 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 John D. Heffner, Strasburger & Price, LLP, 
1025 Connecticut Ave. NW., Suite 717, Washington, DC 20036.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.

    Decided: July 6, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-16799 Filed 7-8-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P