Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, LLC-Lease and Operation Exemption-Certain Assets of Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority, 31365-31366 [E7-10883]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 108 / Wednesday, June 6, 2007 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 35034] Carolina Coastal Railway, Inc.—Lease and Operation Exemption—Norfolk Southern Railway Company Carolina Coastal Railway, Inc. (CLNA), a Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to lease from Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) and to operate approximately 133.4 miles of rail line known as the Raleigh-Plymouth line extending between (1) Milepost NS–132.0 at Chocowinity, Beaufort County, NC, and milepost NS–228.0 at Raleigh, Wake County, NC, and (2) milepost NS–127.4 at Phosphate Junction, Beaufort County, NC, and milepost NS–90.0 at the end of the track at Plymouth, Washington County, NC, including the right-of-way and adjacent real property described as The Pocket Track and the Old Engine/Shop Tracks located in Chocowinity Yard, and the remaining former East Carolina Railway trackage (now industrial spurs) in Farmville, NC. As part of the transaction, CLNA also will acquire 8.6 miles of incidental overhead trackage rights within (a) Raleigh Yard, between milepost NS–228.0 and milepost NS– 232.0 for interchange purposes, and (b) Chocowinity Yard, between milepost NS–127.4 and milepost NS–132.0 for interchange purposes and connectivity of its lines. CLNA certifies that its projected annual revenues as a result of the transaction will not exceed those that would qualify it as a Class III rail carrier and will not exceed $5 million. The transaction is expected to be consummated on or after June 21, 2007.1 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 June 14, 2007 (at least 7 days before the exemption becomes effective). An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 35034, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E together with WNYP’s projected annual revenue will exceed $5 million, WNYP states that it has served the national offices of all labor unions with employees on the line with a copy of a notice of its intent to undertake this transaction and posted such notice at the workplace of the employees on the affected line on April 18, 2007. By petition filed on May 22, 2007, the Decided: May 30, 2007. United Transportation Union-New York By the Board, David M. Konschnik, State Legislative Board (UTU–NY) Director, Office of Proceedings. requests that the Board reject WNYP’s Vernon A. Williams, notice of exemption for failure to meet Secretary. the requirements of 49 CFR 1150.42(e).2 [FR Doc. E7–10773 Filed 6–5–07; 8:45 am] UTU–NY maintains that WNYP was BILLING CODE 4915–01–P required to notify the Board at least 60 days prior to the proposed effective date DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION of the exemption that the required notice had been given to employees. Surface Transportation Board Alternatively, UTU–NY requests that the exemption not become effective [STB Finance Docket No. 35019] until July 16, 2007. WNYP asserts that it served and posted the required Western New York and Pennsylvania information for employees on April 18, Railroad, LLC—Lease and Operation 2007, but it has not certified to the Exemption—Certain Assets of Norfolk Board that it has done so. Southern Railway Company and In a letter filed May 25, 2007, WNYP Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany seeks a waiver of the requirements of 49 and Steuben Southern Tier Extension CFR 1150.42(e) insofar as it relates to Railroad Authority certifying to the Board that it has Western New York and Pennsylvania complied with those requirements at Railroad, LLC (WNYP), a Class III rail least 60 days prior to the effective date carrier, has filed a verified notice of of the exemption. WNYP thus seeks a exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to Board ruling that would permit the lease from Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, exemption in this proceeding to become Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier effective on June 25, 2007. WNYP Extension Railroad Authority (STERA), acknowledges that, although the Board’s and Norfolk Southern Railway Company regulations do not require the filing of (NSR), and operate approximately 98.3 the labor notice with the Board, the miles of rail line extending between Board has interpreted the 60-day Machias Junction, NY, and Driftwood, advance notice requirement in 49 CFR PA, in Cattaraugus County, NY, and 1150.42(e) not only to apply to service McKean, Potter and Cameron Counties, and posting of the required labor notice, PA (the line).1 The end points of the line but also to certification to the Board of are as follows: (1) Between milepost BR that service and posting. 44.7 and milepost BR 134.0 (the Buffalo UTU–NY replied in opposition to the Line); (2) between milepost FV 0.0 and petition for waiver on May 29, 2007. milepost FV 6.6 (the Farmer’s Valley The Board will rule on WNYP’s waiver Secondary Line); and (3) between request in a subsequent decision. Unless milepost YS 114.5 and milepost YS the Board grants the waiver request, the 116.9 (the Olean Branch). NSR will earliest this transaction may be retain detour rights over the line consummated will be 60 days after pursuant to a standard form detour certification of compliance with the agreement adopted by the Association of American Railroads. 2 Under 49 CFR 1150.42(e), ‘‘If the projected WNYP certifies that its projected annual revenue of the rail lines to be acquired or revenues as a result of the transaction operated, together with the acquiring carrier’s projected annual revenue, exceeds $5 million, the will not result in the creation of a Class applicant must, at least 60 days before the II or Class I rail carrier. Because the exemption becomes effective, post a notice of projected annual revenues of the line, applicant’s intent to undertake the proposed Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423– 0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on John D. Heffner, John D. Heffner, PLLC, 1920 N Street, NW., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at https:// www.stb.dot.gov. jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES 1 STERA 1 The lease agreement provides for a term of 20 years from date of the agreement with a renewal term of 10 years. The lease may be terminated by either party prior to the end of the term in accordance with the lease provisions. The parties must seek appropriate Board authority to terminate these provisions. VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:59 Jun 05, 2007 Jkt 211001 31365 owns the portion of the line located in Cattaraugus County. NSR owns the portion of the line located in McKean, Potter and Cameron Counties, and is the current operator of the entire line. In accordance with the lease provisions, the lease term is 14 years, with a renewal term of 10 years, which may be terminated by either party prior to the end of the term. PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 transaction at the workplace of the employees on the affected line(s) and serve a copy of the notice on the national offices of the labor unions with employees on the affected line(s), setting forth the types and numbers of jobs expected to be available, the terms of employment and principles of employee selection, and the lines that are to be transferred, and certify to the Board that it has done so’’ (emphasis added). E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM 06JNN1 31366 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 108 / Wednesday, June 6, 2007 / Notices requirements of 49 CFR 1150.42(e) is received by the Board. 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 transaction. Petitions for stay must be filed no later than June 11, 2007. An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 35019, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423– 0001. Also, a copy of each pleading must be served on Janie Sheng, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, 1601 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006. Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at https:// www.stb.dot.gov. Decided: May 31, 2007. By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary. [FR Doc. E7–10883 Filed 6–5–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB–1011X] Northern Lines Railway, LCCDiscontinuance of Service Exemptionin Stearns County, MN jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES Northern Lines Railway, LCC (NLR) 1 has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F—Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over a 0.77-mile line of railroad between milepost 16.21 and milepost 16.98, near Cold Spring, in Stearns County, MN.2 The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Code 56320. NLR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead 1 NLR was authorized to lease and operate the line in Northern Lines Railway, LLC—Lease and Operation Exemption—The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, STB Finance Docket No. 34627 (STB served Jan. 6, 2005). 2 BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) was authorized to abandon the above-described line in BNSF Railway Company—Abandonment Exemption—in Stearns County, MN, STB Docket No. AB–6 (SubNo. 455X) (STB served May 7, 2007). While BNSF was authorized to abandon its rail line located between milepost 16.21 and milepost 17.00, NLR’s lease only extended to milepost 16.98, explaining the 0.02-mile difference in mileages sought by BNSF and NLR. VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:59 Jun 05, 2007 Jkt 211001 traffic on the line to be rerouted; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line (or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication) and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met. As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected by the discontinuance of service shall be protected under Oregon Short Line R. Co.—Abandonment-Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address whether this condition adequately protects affected employees, a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on July 6, 2007, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues and formal expressions of intent to file an OFA for continued rail service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),3 must be filed by June 18, 2007.4 Petitions to reopen must be filed by June 26, 2007, with: Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423–0001. A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NLR’s representative: Karl Morell, Ball Janik LLP, 1455 F Street, NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at https:// www.stb.dot.gov. Decided: May 30, 2007. By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary. [FR Doc. E7–10772 Filed 6–5–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 3 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is set at $1,300. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25). 4 Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and not an abandonment, trail use/rail banking and public use conditions are not appropriate. Likewise, no environmental or historical documentation is required here under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and 1105.8(b), respectively. PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request May 31, 2007. The Department of the Treasury has submitted the following public information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling the Treasury Bureau Clearance Officer listed. Comments regarding this information collection should be addressed to the OMB reviewer listed and to the Treasury Department Clearance Officer, Department of the Treasury, Room 11000, 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220. Dates: Written comments should be received on or before July 6, 2007 to be assured of consideration. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) OMB Number: 1545–2051. Type of Review: Extension. Title: Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid. Form: 8913. Description: In May 2006, the IRS issued Notice 2006–50 stating ‘‘taxpayers may be entitled to request a credit or refund of the federal excise tax on nontaxable telephone service. The refund period is for nontaxable service billed after February 28, 2003 and before August 1, 2006. The credit or refund must be claimed on a 2006 income tax return. Form 8913 has been developed to allow taxpayers to compute the actual amount of refund for each month of the 14 refund periods. Taxpayers must also calculate the interest due on the refund. Factors have been provided for each refund period. The tax and interest is combined on Form 8913 and one amount is transferred to the appropriate income tax return. The burden hours were decreased due to SOI Research providing more realistic filing figures based on actual filings of the form. Respondents: Businesses and other for-profit institutions. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 67,608,000 hours. OMB Number: 1545–1603. Type of Review: Extension. Title: REG–104691–97 (Final) Electronic Tip Report. Description: The regulations provide rules authorizing employers to establish electronic systems for use by their tipped employees in reporting tips to their employer. The information will be used by employers to determine the amount of income tax and FICA tax to E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM 06JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31365-31366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10883]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 35019]


Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, LLC--Lease and 
Operation Exemption--Certain Assets of Norfolk Southern Railway Company 
and Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier 
Extension Railroad Authority

    Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad, LLC (WNYP), a Class III 
rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 
1150.41 to lease from Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben 
Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority (STERA), and Norfolk 
Southern Railway Company (NSR), and operate approximately 98.3 miles of 
rail line extending between Machias Junction, NY, and Driftwood, PA, in 
Cattaraugus County, NY, and McKean, Potter and Cameron Counties, PA 
(the line).\1\ The end points of the line are as follows: (1) Between 
milepost BR 44.7 and milepost BR 134.0 (the Buffalo Line); (2) between 
milepost FV 0.0 and milepost FV 6.6 (the Farmer's Valley Secondary 
Line); and (3) between milepost YS 114.5 and milepost YS 116.9 (the 
Olean Branch). NSR will retain detour rights over the line pursuant to 
a standard form detour agreement adopted by the Association of American 
Railroads.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ STERA owns the portion of the line located in Cattaraugus 
County. NSR owns the portion of the line located in McKean, Potter 
and Cameron Counties, and is the current operator of the entire 
line. In accordance with the lease provisions, the lease term is 14 
years, with a renewal term of 10 years, which may be terminated by 
either party prior to the end of the term.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    WNYP certifies that its projected revenues as a result of the 
transaction will not result in the creation of a Class II or Class I 
rail carrier. Because the projected annual revenues of the line, 
together with WNYP's projected annual revenue will exceed $5 million, 
WNYP states that it has served the national offices of all labor unions 
with employees on the line with a copy of a notice of its intent to 
undertake this transaction and posted such notice at the workplace of 
the employees on the affected line on April 18, 2007.
    By petition filed on May 22, 2007, the United Transportation Union-
New York State Legislative Board (UTU-NY) requests that the Board 
reject WNYP's notice of exemption for failure to meet the requirements 
of 49 CFR 1150.42(e).\2\ UTU-NY maintains that WNYP was required to 
notify the Board at least 60 days prior to the proposed effective date 
of the exemption that the required notice had been given to employees. 
Alternatively, UTU-NY requests that the exemption not become effective 
until July 16, 2007. WNYP asserts that it served and posted the 
required information for employees on April 18, 2007, but it has not 
certified to the Board that it has done so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Under 49 CFR 1150.42(e), ``If the projected annual revenue 
of the rail lines to be acquired or operated, together with the 
acquiring carrier's projected annual revenue, exceeds $5 million, 
the applicant must, at least 60 days before the exemption becomes 
effective, post a notice of applicant's intent to undertake the 
proposed transaction at the workplace of the employees on the 
affected line(s) and serve a copy of the notice on the national 
offices of the labor unions with employees on the affected line(s), 
setting forth the types and numbers of jobs expected to be 
available, the terms of employment and principles of employee 
selection, and the lines that are to be transferred, and certify to 
the Board that it has done so'' (emphasis added).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In a letter filed May 25, 2007, WNYP seeks a waiver of the 
requirements of 49 CFR 1150.42(e) insofar as it relates to certifying 
to the Board that it has complied with those requirements at least 60 
days prior to the effective date of the exemption. WNYP thus seeks a 
Board ruling that would permit the exemption in this proceeding to 
become effective on June 25, 2007. WNYP acknowledges that, although the 
Board's regulations do not require the filing of the labor notice with 
the Board, the Board has interpreted the 60-day advance notice 
requirement in 49 CFR 1150.42(e) not only to apply to service and 
posting of the required labor notice, but also to certification to the 
Board of that service and posting.
    UTU-NY replied in opposition to the petition for waiver on May 29, 
2007. The Board will rule on WNYP's waiver request in a subsequent 
decision. Unless the Board grants the waiver request, the earliest this 
transaction may be consummated will be 60 days after certification of 
compliance with the

[[Page 31366]]

requirements of 49 CFR 1150.42(e) is received by the Board.
    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 transaction. 
Petitions for stay must be filed no later than June 11, 2007.
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 35019, must be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. Also, a copy of 
each pleading must be served on Janie Sheng, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart 
Preston Gates Ellis LLP, 1601 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http:/
/www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: May 31, 2007.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-10883 Filed 6-5-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.