[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 82 (Friday, April 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23028-23029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09058]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36512]


Watco Holdings, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--Ringneck 
& Western Railroad, L.L.C.

    Watco Holdings, Inc. (Watco), a noncarrier, has filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of 
Ringneck & Western Railroad, L.L.C. (RWRR), a noncarrier controlled by 
Watco, upon RWRR's becoming a Class III rail carrier.
    This transaction is related to a verified notice of exemption filed 
concurrently in Ringneck & Western Railroad--Acquisition & Operation 
Exemption--Railroad Line in Davison, Aurora, Brule, Lyman, Jones, 
Jackson, & Pennington Counties, S.D., Docket No. FD 36494, in which 
RWRR seeks, among other things, to acquire from the State of South 
Dakota approximately 285.43 miles of railroad line and acquire by 
assignment incidental overhead trackage rights over certain lines of 
BNSF Railway Company in South Dakota.
    The transaction may be consummated on or after May 16, 2021, the 
effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice was 
filed).
    According to the verified notice of exemption, Watco currently 
controls indirectly 39 Class III railroads and one Class II railroad, 
collectively operating in 27 states. For a complete list of these rail 
carriers and the states in which they operate, see the Appendix to 
Watco's April 16, 2021 verified notice of exemption. The verified 
notice is available at www.stb.gov.
    Watco represents that: (1) The rail line to be operated by RWRR 
does not connect with the rail lines of any of the rail carriers 
controlled by Watco; (2) this transaction is not part of a series of 
anticipated transactions that would connect RWRR with any railroad in 
the

[[Page 23029]]

Watco corporate family; and (3) the transaction does not involve a 
Class I rail carrier. The proposed transaction is therefore exempt from 
the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323 pursuant to 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. Because the transaction 
involves the control of one Class II and one or more Class III rail 
carriers, the transaction is subject to the labor protection 
requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11326(b) and Wisconsin Central Ltd.--
Acquisition Exemption--Lines of Union Pacific Railroad, 2 S.T.B. 218 
(1997).
    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 May 7, 2021 
(at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36512, should be filed 
with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's 
website. In addition, one copy of each pleading must be served on 
Watco's representative, Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 
North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
    According to Watco, this action is categorically excluded from 
environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from historic reporting 
requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b).
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: April 27, 2021.

    By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-09058 Filed 4-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P