[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63641-63642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20024]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36721]


Cedar River Railroad Company and Chicago, Central & Pacific 
Railroad Company--Trackage Rights Exemption--Dakota, Minnesota & 
Eastern Railroad Corporation

    Cedar River Railroad Company (CEDR) and Chicago, Central & Pacific 
Railroad Company (CCP) \1\ (collectively, Applicants) have filed a 
verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) for acquisition 
of limited local trackage rights over approximately 3.75 miles of rail 
line owned by Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Company, d/b/a 
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (DM&E),\2\ between approximately milepost 
88.85 in Charles City, Iowa, and the east mainline switch to the Valero 
ethanol facility at approximately milepost 92.6, west of Charles City 
(the Line).
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    \1\ The verified notice states that both CEDR and CCP are 
indirect rail carrier subsidiaries of Canadian National Railway 
Company (CN), whose U.S. rail carrier subsidiaries (including CEDR 
and CCP) are held directly or indirectly by CN's wholly owned 
subsidiary Grand Trunk Corporation. See Canadian Nat'l Ry.--
Control--Ill. Cent. Corp., 4 S.T.B. 122 (1999); Ill. Cent. Corp.--
Control--CCP Holdings, Inc., FD 32858 (STB served May 14, 1996).
    \2\ The verified notice states that DM&E is part of the Canadian 
Pacific Kansas City system. See Canadian Pac. Ry.--Control--Kan. 
City S., FD 36500, slip op. at 3 n.3 (STB served Mar. 15, 2023).
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    Applicants and DM&E have entered into a March 3, 2022 written 
trackage rights agreement \3\ that grants Applicants local trackage 
rights over the Line, limited to the provision of freight rail service 
to the Valero facility and to the movement of no more than seven loaded 
trains per week.\4\
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    \3\ A redacted version of the trackage rights agreement was 
filed with the verified notice. An unredacted version of the 
agreement was submitted to the Board under seal concurrently with a 
motion for protective order, which was granted in a decision served 
on September 7, 2023.
    \4\ In a related proceeding, CCP has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) for the acquisition of overhead 
trackage rights over approximately 41.5 miles of rail line owned by 
CEDR between Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Charles City. See Chi., Cent. & 
Pac. R.R.--Trackage Rts. Exemption--Cedar River R.R., Docket No. FD 
36722. Applicants state that CCP's service to the Valero facility 
will be provided in conjunction with such overhead trackage rights.
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    As a condition to this exemption, any employees affected by the 
acquisition of the trackage rights will be protected by the conditions 
imposed in Norfolk & Western Railway--Trackage Rights--Burlington 
Northern, Inc., 354 I.C.C. 605 (1978), as modified by Mendocino Coast 
Railway--Lease & Operate--California Western Railroad, 360 I.C.C. 653 
(1980).
    The transaction may be consummated on or after October 1, 2023, the 
effective

[[Page 63642]]

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 September 22, 2023 (at least seven days before the exemption 
becomes effective).
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36721, must be filed with 
the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's website or 
in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001. In 
addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on Applicants' 
representative, Thomas J. Litwiler, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North 
Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
    According to Applicants, 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).
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: September 12, 2023.

    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-20024 Filed 9-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P