[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58806-58807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25413]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36245]


Paul Didelius--Continuance in Control Exemption--KET, LLC

    Paul Didelius (Didelius), an individual and noncarrier,\1\ has 
filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to 
continue in control of KET, LLC (KET), upon KET's becoming a Class III 
rail carrier.
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    \1\ Didelius currently owns 100% of LRY, LLC d/b/a Lake Railway 
(LRY), a Class III carrier that leases and operates rail lines owned 
by Union Pacific Railroad Company and Lake County, Or., in 
California and Oregon; 49% of YCR Corporation (YCR), a Class III 
rail carrier established for the purpose of leasing and operating a 
line of railroad owned by Yakima County, Wash.; 100% of CCET, LLC 
(CCET), a Class III short line rail carrier organized for the 
purpose of leasing and operating a rail line owned by Norfolk 
Southern Railway Company in Ohio; 100% of WRL, LLC (WRL), a Class 
III carrier that leases and operates a rail line owned by Port of 
Royal Slope, a Washington state municipal corporation, in 
Washington; and 100% of CWW, LLC (CWW), a Class III carrier that 
leases and operates a line of railroad owned by the Port of 
Columbia, Wash.
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    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in KET, LLC--Operation Exemption--Lines of Railroad in 
Benton County, Wash., Docket No. FD 36244, in which KET seeks Board 
approval under 49 CFR 1150.31 to operate two industrial spurs totaling 
approximately 1.28 miles in length in Kennewick and Hedges, Benton 
County, Wash.
    The transaction may be consummated on or after December 5, 2018, 
the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice 
of exemption was filed).
    Didelius represents that: (1) The rail properties that will be 
operated and controlled by Didelius, namely LRY, YCR, CCET, WRL, CWW, 
and KET, do not physically connect; (2) there are no plans to acquire 
additional rail lines for the purpose of making a connection; and (3) 
each of the carriers involved in the continuance in control transaction 
is a Class III 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

[[Page 58807]]

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 November 28, 2018 (at 
least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 36245, 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 James H.M. Savage, 22 Rockingham Court, 
Germantown, MD 20874.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at 
www.stb.gov.

    Decided: November 16, 2018.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018-25413 Filed 11-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P