[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 33803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13775]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35829]


Patrick D. Broe and Sand Springs Holdings, LLC--Acquisition of 
Control Exemption--Sand Springs Railway Company

    Patrick D. Broe (Broe) and Sand Springs Holdings, LLC (Holdings) 
(collectively, Applicants), both noncarriers, have filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to acquire control of 
Sand Springs Railway Company (Sand Springs), a Class III railroad.
    Applicants state that Broe directly controls Holdings, OmniTRAX, 
Inc. (OmniTRAX), a noncarrier company that controls 12 Class III 
railroads,\1\ and BNS Holding, Inc. (BNS), a noncarrier that indirectly 
controls three Class III railroads.\2\ Applicants also state that 
Sheffield Steel Corporation (Sheffield), a noncarrier, currently 
controls Sand Springs. According to Applicants, Holdings and Sheffield 
have entered into an agreement \3\ dated May 23, 2014, by which 
Holdings will acquire all of the stock of Sand Springs. Once that 
transaction is consummated, Broe and Holdings will control Sand 
Springs.
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    \1\ Those 12 railroads are: Chicago Rail Link, LLC; Georgia 
Woodlands Railroad, LLC; Great Western Railway of Colorado, LLC; 
Manufacturers' Junction Railway, LLC; Newburgh & South Shore 
Railroad, LLC; Northern Ohio & Western Railway, LLC; Panhandle 
Northern Railroad, LLC; Alliance Terminal Railroad, LLC; Fulton 
County Railway, LLC; Alabama & Tennessee River Railway, LLC; Kettle 
Falls International Railway, LLC; and Stockton Terminal and Eastern 
Railroad.
    \2\ Those three railroads are: Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado 
Railway, LLC; Illinois Railway, LLC; and Georgia & Florida Railway, 
LLC.
    \3\ A redacted version of the agreement between Holdings and 
Sheffield was filed with the notice of exemption. An unredacted 
version was filed concurrently under seal, along with a motion for 
protective order pursuant to 49 CFR 1104.14(b). That motion will be 
addressed in a separate decision.
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    Applicants intend to consummate this transaction on or shortly 
after June 26, 2014 (the effective date of the exemption, 30 days after 
the notice of exemption was filed).
    Applicants state that: (1) The rail lines operated by OmniTRAX's 
and BNS's railroads do not connect with the rail lines operated by Sand 
Springs; (2) this transaction is not part of a series of anticipated 
transactions that would connect the rail lines operated by Sand Springs 
with any railroad in the OmniTRAX or BNS corporate family; and (3) the 
transaction does not involve a Class I rail carrier. Therefore, the 
transaction is exempt from the prior approval acquirements 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. Section 11326(c), however, does 
not provide for labor protection for transactions under 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 carriers.
    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 to stay must be filed no later than June 19, 2014 
(at least 7 days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 35829, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy must be 
served on Karl Morell, Ball Janik LLP, 655 Fifteenth Street NW., Suite 
225, Washington, DC 20005.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.

    Decided: June 9, 2014.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-13775 Filed 6-11-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P