[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56769-56770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22272]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. FD 35762]
South Carolina Division of Public Railways, d/b/a Palmetto
Railways--Intra-Corporate Family Transaction Exemption--The Port
Utilities Commission of Charleston, S.C., Port Terminal Railroad of
South Carolina, and East Cooper and Berkeley Railroad Company
South Carolina Division of Public Railways, d/b/a Palmetto Railways
(SCPR), a Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49
[[Page 56770]]
CFR 1180.2(d)(3) for an intra-corporate family transaction.
According to SCPR, it owns the rail trackage and other physical
assets of Class III rail carriers The Port Utilities Commission of
Charleston, S.C. (PUCC), Port Terminal Railroad of South Carolina
(PTR), and East Cooper and Berkeley Railroad Company (ECB), and it
employs the workers on those railroads. Applicant explains that
although PUCC, PTR, and ECB do not exist as separate, formal corporate
or governmental entities but rather as the equivalent of divisions of
SCPR, they have historically been treated as separate regulated
entities.\1\
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\1\ See Public-Convenience Application of Port Utilities Comm'n
of Charleston, S.C., 90 I.C.C. 743 (1924) (certificate issued to
PUCC to acquire and operate certain railroad terminal facilities in
Charleston, S.C.); Port Terminal R.R. of S.C. Operation, 295 I.C.C.
819 (not printed in full, Aug. 6, 1956) (PTR obtained authority in
its own name to operate trackage owned by the South Carolina State
Ports Authority in North Charleston); The E. Cooper & Berkeley
R.R.--Constr. & Operation--Line of R.R. Located in Berkeley Cnty.,
S.C., FD 28100 (ICC served July 15, 1977) (ECB obtained authority in
its own name to construct and operate an approximately 15-mile rail
line in an area north of Charleston); South Carolina Rys. Comm'n v.
Seaboard Coast Line R.R., 365 I.C.C. 274 (1981) (PUCC and PTR
described as terminal switching carriers); East Cooper & Berkeley
R.R.--Construction & Operation Exemption--In Berkeley Cnty., S.C.,
FD 32704 (ICC served Dec. 13, 1995) (ECB granted an exemption to
construct and operate a 1.7-mile single track rail line in South
Carolina); and Port Terminal R.R.--Operation Exemption--Rail Line of
the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Auth., FD 35211 (STB
served Feb. 19, 2009) (PTR granted an exemption to operate a rail
line on the former Charleston Naval Base).
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SCPR proposes to: (1) Eliminate PUCC, PTR, and ECB as separate rail
carriers, which have been operating as Applicant's divisions; and (2)
consolidate their distinct common carrier authorities into Applicant,
which will operate and market all of the rail lines under the name
``Palmetto Railways.'' SCPR states that the proposed transaction will
clarify ambiguities regarding the regulatory status of PUCC, PTR, and
ECB.
This exemption will become effective on September 29, 2013. SCPR
states that it intends to consummate the proposed transaction on
October 1, 2013, but may not do so prior to the September 29, 2013
effective date of the exemption.
Applicant states that the purpose of the proposed transaction is to
clarify the regulatory status of SCPR's rail operations and simplify
various administrative and marketing functions.
This is a transaction within a corporate family of the type
exempted from prior review and approval under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(3). SCPR
states that the transaction will not result in adverse changes in
service levels, significant operational changes, or any change in the
competitive balance with carriers outside the SCPR corporate family.
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. Section 11326(c), however, does
not provide for labor protection for transactions under Sec. Sec.
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.
If the 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 20, 2013 (at
least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No.
FD 35762, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each
pleading must be served on Thomas J. Litwiler, Fletcher & Sippel LLC,
29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606.
Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at
www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: September 10, 2013.
By the Board,
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2013-22272 Filed 9-12-13; 8:45 am]
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