[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 56895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24838]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36242]


Oregon International Port of Coos Bay--Continuance in Control 
Exemption--Coos Bay Rail Line, Inc.

    Oregon International Port of Coos Bay (the Port) filed a verified 
notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in 
control of Coos Bay Rail Line, Inc. (Coos Rail), a nonprofit corporate 
entity under the control of the Port, upon Coos Rail's becoming a Class 
III rail carrier.
    The transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in Coos Bay Rail Line, Inc.--Change in Operators 
Exemption--Coos Bay Railroad Operating Company, LLC d/b/a Coos Bay Rail 
Link, Docket No. FD 36241. In that proceeding, Coos Rail seeks an 
exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to replace Coos Bay Railroad Operating 
Company, LLC d/b/a Coos Bay Rail Link as the operator of two 
interconnected railroad lines owned by the Port, extending from 
milepost 652.114 at Danebo, Or., to milepost 763.13 at Cordes, Or.; and 
from milepost 763.13 at Cordes to milepost 785.5 at Coquille, Or., a 
total of approximately 133 miles (collectively, the Line).
    The earliest this transaction may be consummated is November 28, 
2018, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified 
notice was filed).\1\ The Port states that it intends to consummate the 
transaction no later than November 28, 2018.
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    \1\ On October 31, 2018, the Port filed a petition for partial 
waiver of 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1) to permit the exemption to become 
effective by no later than November 19, 2018, instead of the 
standard 30 days after the verified notice was filed. The waiver 
request will be addressed in a separate Board decision.
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    The Port is a Class III rail carrier and will continue in control 
of Coos Rail upon Coos Rail's becoming a Class III rail carrier. The 
Line is the only rail line owned or operated by the corporate family, 
and therefore: It does not connect with any other railroads in the 
corporate family; and the continuance in control is not part of series 
of anticipated transactions that would connect the Line with any other 
railroad in the corporate family. Furthermore, 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. 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 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 November 21, 2018.\2\
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    \2\ Should the Board grant Coos Rail's waiver request and 
accelerate the effective date of the exemption, the due date for 
stay petitions may be revised accordingly.
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    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 36242, 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 Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 
North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at 
www.stb.gov.

    Decided: November 8, 2018.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018-24838 Filed 11-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P