[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17585-17586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08337]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36177]


Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority--Acquisition 
Exemption--in Hennepin County, Minn

    The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), a Class 
III carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 
1150.41 to acquire from Soo Line Railroad Company d/b/a Canadian 
Pacific (CP) a permanent, irrevocable, exclusive rail freight operating 
easement over the Bass Lake Spur, which extends from Milepost 435.06 in 
Hopkins, Hennepin County, Minn., to Milepost 428.38 in St. Louis Park, 
Hennepin County, Minn., a distance of approximately 6.7 miles (the 
Line).
    HCRRA states that the Line includes a portion of the connecting 
track between the Bass Lake Spur and CP's Minneapolis, Northfield and 
Southern Spur in St. Louis Park. According to HCRRA, together with the 
Kenilworth Corridor,\1\ the Line connects a line of Twin Cities & 
Western Railroad Company (TCWR) to the west with a line of BNSF Railway 
Company to the east.
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    \1\ HCRRA states that the Kenilworth Corridor is a 2.6-mile 
segment of rail line and right-of-way west of the Line, presently 
owned by HCRRA, and over which Twin Cities & Western Railroad 
Company and CP have trackage rights. HCRRA further states that these 
tracks, and this Notice of Exemption, are directly related to a 
petition for declaratory order that was contemporaneously filed in 
Docket No. FD 36178 by the Metropolitan Council, a non-railroad, 
political subdivision of the State of Minnesota. According to HCRRA, 
the proposed transaction is intended to facilitate the planning and 
future construction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project--
managed by the Metropolitan Council--which, when complete, will 
provide transit light rail service from downtown Minneapolis through 
the communities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden 
Prairie.
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    HCRRA further states that, through the proposed transaction, HCRRA 
intends to acquire CP's common carrier rights and obligations with 
respect to the Line. Immediately following HCRRA's acquisition, 
according to HCRRA, CP intends to transfer the trackage and underlying 
real estate to the Metropolitan Council, subject to HCRRA's permanent 
and exclusive rail freight operating easement. HCRRA states that TCWR 
operates over the Line pursuant to overhead trackage rights granted by 
CP, which maintains the Line but does not operate on it. Upon 
consummation of the transaction, HCRRA states, CP will execute an 
agreement assigning to HCRRA its rights and responsibilities under the 
TCWR trackage rights agreement that pertain to the Line. HCRRA asserts 
that it will have permanent and adequate rights to ensure the provision 
of any required common carrier service on the Line, and neither HCRRA 
nor the Metropolitan Council will unreasonably interfere with or 
restrict TCWR's continued overhead operations.
    According to HCRRA, it has negotiated an Easement Agreement with CP 
and the Metropolitan Council setting forth the parties' respective 
rights and obligations in connection with HCRRA's acquisition of the 
easement that will allow HCRRA to acquire and fulfill CP's common 
carrier rights and obligations

[[Page 17586]]

with respect to the Line, and the transfer of the associated trackage 
and underlying real estate to the Metropolitan Council.
    HCRRA certifies that its revenues from freight operations will not 
result in the creation of a Class I or Class II carrier. HCRRA also 
certifies that the proposed acquisition does not involve an interchange 
commitment or other limitation of future interchange with a third-party 
connecting carrier.
    HCRRA states that the parties expect the transactions to be 
consummated in the second quarter of 2018. The earliest this 
transaction may be consummated is May 5, 2018 (30 days after the 
verified notice of exemption was filed).
    According to HCRRA, its proposed acquisition of the Line is exempt 
from environmental reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.6(c)(1)(i) 
and from historic preservation reporting under 49 CFR 1105.8(b)(1).
    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. Petitions for stay must be filed no later than April 27, 
2018 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).\2\
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    \2\ In letters filed on April 16, 2018, the City of Stewart, 
Minn., and Farmward Cooperative ask the Board to stay the 
effectiveness of the notice ``in order to solicit the views of 
others affected by this transaction,'' including shippers. This 
request will be addressed in a separate decision.
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    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 36177, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each 
pleading must be served on Charles A. Spitulnik, Kaplan Kirsch & 
Rockwell LLP, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 
20036.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at 
WWW.STB.GOV.

    Decided: April 17, 2018.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018-08337 Filed 4-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P