[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 9 (Friday, January 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 2470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00574]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36751; Docket No. FD 36752]


James K. Perry and W. Stinson Dean--Continuance in Control 
Exemption--Pioneer Rail and Transload of Hawthorne, Fla. and Pioneer 
Rail and Transload of El Reno, Okla.

    James K. Perry and W. Stinson Dean (Pioneer Owners), noncarriers, 
have filed verified notices of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to 
continue in control (by majority ownership) of Pioneer Rail and 
Transload of Hawthorne, Fla. (PRTF), and Pioneer Rail and Transload of 
El Reno, Okla. (PRTO), through their ownership of Pioneer Storage 
Company of Florida, LLC (PSCF), and Pioneer Storage Company LLC (PSCO) 
respectively, both noncarriers, when PRTF and PRTO become common 
carriers.\1\
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    \1\ These proceedings are not consolidated. A single decision is 
being issued for administrative convenience.
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    These transactions are related to two concurrently filed verified 
notices of exemption in Pioneer Rail & Transport of Hawthorne, Fla., a 
Division of Pioneer Storage Company of Florida, LLC--Operation 
Exemption--Line in Hawthorne, Fla., FD 36748, and Pioneer Rail & 
Transport of El Reno, Okla., a Division of Pioneer Storage Company, 
LLC--Operation Exemption--Line in El Reno, Okla., FD 36749. In those 
proceedings, PRTF seeks to operate over 5,569 feet of existing railroad 
track in Hawthorne, Fla., and PRTO seeks to operate over 8,530 feet of 
existing railroad track in El Reno, Okla. According to the verified 
notice, the Pioneer Owners currently have indirect control of PRTO 
through their ownership of PSCO and currently have indirect control of 
PRTF through their ownership of PSCF.
    The notices indicate that (1) the lines PRTF and PRTO will operate 
do not connect with one another and there are no other railroads in the 
Pioneer Owners' corporate family; (2) the continuance in control of 
PRTF and PRTF is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that 
would connect the lines with any other carriers in the Pioneer Owners' 
corporate family; and (3) the proposed transactions do not involve a 
Class I rail carrier. Therefore, this 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. 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. Accordingly, 
the Board may not impose labor protective conditions here because all 
of the carriers involved are Class III rail carriers.
    The earliest these transactions may be consummated is January 27, 
2024, the effective date of the exemptions (30 days after the verified 
notices were filed). If the verified notices contain false or 
misleading information, the exemptions are void ab initio. Petitions to 
revoke the exemptions 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 exemptions. Petitions to stay must be filed no 
later than January 19, 2024.
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36751 and/or Docket No. 
FD 36752, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board either 
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 Pioneer Owners' counsel, Renner Jantz, 
Pioneer Rail & Transload of El Reno, OK, a Division of Pioneer Storage 
Company, LLC, 1200 N Grand Ave., El Reno, OK 73036.
    According to the Pioneer Owners, this action is 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: January 9, 2024.

    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2024-00574 Filed 1-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P