[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71131-71132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24688]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36428]


R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Lehigh Line, LLC--Change in 
Operators, Lease and Operation Exemption With Interchange Commitment--
Lehigh Railway, LLC and Norfolk Southern Railway Company

    R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Lehigh Line, LLC (RJLR), a 
noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 
1150.31 to change operators and assume the lease and operation of 
approximately 56.0 miles of rail line between milepost IS 269.5 at 
Athens, Pa., and milepost IS 213.5 at Mehoopany, Pa., and related 
industrial track, located in Bradford and Wyoming Counties, Pa. (the 
Line). The Line is currently operated by Lehigh Railway, LLC (LR), 
pursuant to a lease with Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR).
    According to RJLR, this transaction is part of a larger transaction 
in which noncarrier holding company R. J. Corman Railroad Company, LLC 
(RJCR), through RJLR and two other newly formed noncarrier 
subsidiaries, has entered into an agreement to purchase the material 
assets of LR and two other carriers under the ownership and control of 
Stephen C. May and operate those respective rail lines. Accordingly, 
this transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice of 
exemption in R. J. Corman Railroad Company, LLC & 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, Docket No. FD 36431,\1\ in which RJCR and RJRG seek to 
continue in control of RJLR and the other two newly formed subsidiaries

[[Page 71132]]

upon their becoming Class III rail carriers, while remaining in control 
of 15 other Class III rail carriers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In response to a decision served on September 17, 2020 
requesting additional information about certain aspects of the 
larger transaction, RJCR requested that R. J. Corman Railroad Group, 
LLC (RJRG) be added as an applicant in Docket No. FD 36431.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    According to RJLR, it has reached an agreement in principle with 
NSR regarding a Lease Amendment No. 2 under which RJLR will assume LR 
and NSR's underlying October 28, 2008 Lease Agreement, as amended by 
the July 11, 2016 Lease Amendment No. 1, and operate the Line. See 
Lehigh Ry.--Lease & Operation Exemption--Norfolk S. Ry., FD 35192 (STB 
served Nov. 14, 2008); Lehigh Ry.--Lease Exemption Containing 
Interchange Commitment--Norfolk S. Ry., FD 36062 (STB served Sept. 30, 
2016). According to RJLR, a final version Lease Amendment No. 2 is 
expected to be executed shortly.
    RJLR certifies that the proposed Lease Amendment No. 2 between RJLR 
and NSR contains an interchange commitment that affects interchange 
with carriers other than NSR at the interchange points of Mehoopany and 
Towanda, Pa.\2\ RJLR has provided additional information regarding the 
interchange commitment as required by 49 CFR 1150.33(h).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ A copy of Lease Amendment No. 2 with the interchange 
commitment was submitted under seal with the verified notice. See 49 
CFR 1150.33(h)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    RJLR certifies that its projected revenues as a result of this 
transaction will not exceed those that would qualify it as a Class III 
carrier but also states that its projected annual revenues will exceed 
$5 million following the transaction. Pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.32(e), if 
a carrier's projected annual revenues will exceed $5 million, it must, 
at least 60 days before the exemption becomes effective, post a notice 
of its intent to undertake the proposed transaction at the workplace of 
the employees on the affected lines, serve a copy of the notice on the 
national offices of the labor unions with employees on the affected 
lines, and certify to the Board that it has done so. RJLR states that 
it posted notice consistent with 1150.32(e) at the workplace of 
employees as of August 19, 2020, that LR employees do not have a 
collective bargaining agreement and are not represented, and that NSR 
does not have any employees on the Line.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ RJLR initially requested a waiver of the provisions of 
1150.32(e) to allow the exemption to become effective after 30 days. 
That request is now moot.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    RJLR states that it provided notice of the proposed transaction and 
interchange commitment shippers on the Line through service of a copy 
of the verified notice.
    The earliest this transaction may be consummated is November 20, 
2020, the effective date of the exemption.
    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 November 13, 
2020 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36428, 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 RJLR's 
representative, David R. Irvin, Irvin Rigsby PLC, 110 North Main 
Street, Nicholasville, KY 40356.
    According to RJLR, this action is categorically excluded from 
environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from historic 
preservation reporting requirement under 49 CFR 1105.8(b).
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: November 2, 2020.

    By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Aretha Laws-Byrum,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020-24688 Filed 11-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P