[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 71131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24664]
[[Page 71131]]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36431]
R. J. Corman Railroad Company, LLC and R. J. Corman Railroad
Group, LLC--Continuance in Control Exemption--R. J. Corman Railroad
Company/Lehigh Line, LLC, R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Owego & Harford
Line, Inc., and R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Luzerne & Susquehanna
Line, LLC
R. J. Corman Railroad Company, LLC (RJCR) and R. J. Corman Railroad
Group, LLC (RJRG) (collectively, Applicants),\1\ have filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of
R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Lehigh Line, LLC (RJLR), R. J. Corman
Railroad Company/Luzerne & Susquehanna Line, LLC (RJLS), and R. J.
Corman Railroad Company/Owego & Harford Line, Inc. (RJOH),\2\ currently
noncarriers, upon RJLR, RJLS, and RJOH becoming Class III rail
carriers.
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\1\ The title of this proceeding is being updated to reflect the
fact that, in response to a decision served on September 17, 2020,
RJCR requested that RJRG be added as an applicant in the proceeding.
The verified notice states that RJCR is a noncarrier and wholly
owned subsidiary of RJRG.
\2\ On August 27, 2020, RJCR and RJOH filed a letter in this and
a related docket with additional information relating to a change in
RJOH's corporate status from limited liability company to
corporation.
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This transaction is related to the following concurrently filed
notices: (1) R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Lehigh Line, LLC--Change in
Operators Exemption with Interchange Commitment--Lehigh Railway, LLC
and Norfolk Southern Railway Company, Docket No. FD 36428, in which
RJLR seeks authority to assume the lease and operation of 56.0 miles of
rail line and related industrial track located in Bradford and Wyoming
Counties, Pa.; (2) R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Luzerne & Susquehanna
Line, LLC--Change in Operators Exemption--Luzerne and Susquehanna
Railway Co. and Luzerne County Rail Corporation, Docket No. FD 36429,
in which RJLS seeks authority to assume the lease and operation of
approximately 41.19 miles of rail line located in Luzerne and
Lackawanna Counties, Pa.; and (3) R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Owego &
Harford Line, Inc.--Modified Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity, Docket No. FD 36430, in which RJOH filed a notice for a
modified certificate to assume the lease and operation of approximately
27.6 miles of rail line located between milepost 0.0 at Owego, N.Y.,
and milepost 27.6 at North Harford, N.Y.
The earliest this transaction may be consummated is November 20,
2020, the effective date of the exemption.
Applicants seek to continue in control of RJLR, RJLS, and RJOH upon
their becoming Class III rail carriers, while remaining in control of
15 other Class III rail carriers, including two non-operating rail
carriers, collectively operating in 11 states. For a complete list of
these rail carriers, see the verified notice of exemption filed in this
docket. The notice is available at www.stb.gov.
The verified notice states that: (1) RJLR, RJLS, and RJOH, and the
railroads under RJCR's (and therefore Applicants') ownership and
control, would not connect with each other or any other railroad in the
corporate family; (2) the continuance in control is not part of a
series of anticipated transactions that would connect the carriers with
each other or any railroad in their corporate family; and (3) the
transaction does not involve a Class I carrier. The proposed
transaction is, therefore, 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. However, 49 U.S.C. 11326(c)
does not provide for labor protection for transactions under 49 U.S.C.
11324 and 11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers. Because this
transaction involves Class III rail carriers only, the Board, under the
statute, may not impose labor protective conditions for this
transaction.
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 to stay must be filed no later than November 13,
2020 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36431, should be filed
with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's
website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on
Applicants' representative, David R. Irvin, Irvin Rigsby PLC, 110 North
Main Street, Nicholasville, KY 40356.
According to the verified notice, this action is categorically
excluded from environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from
historic preservation reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b)(1).
Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: November 2, 2020.
By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Brendetta Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020-24664 Filed 11-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P