Notice2021-24583
OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund, Jaguar Transport Holdings, LLC, and Jaguar Rail Holdings, LLC-Continuance in Control Exemption-Missouri Eastern Railroad, LLC
Primary source
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Published
November 10, 2021
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 215 (Wednesday, November 10, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 62592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24583]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36551]
OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund, Jaguar Transport Holdings, LLC,
and Jaguar Rail Holdings, LLC--Continuance in Control Exemption--
Missouri Eastern Railroad, LLC
OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund (OPTrust), Jaguar Transport Holdings,
LLC (JTH), and Jaguar Rail Holdings, LLC (JRH, and collectively with
OPTrust and JTH, Jaguar), all noncarriers, have filed a verified notice
of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of
Missouri Eastern Railroad, LLC (MER), a noncarrier established by
Jaguar to acquire a railroad line (and related, incidental overhead
trackage rights) in Missouri, upon MER's becoming a Class III rail
carrier.
This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice
of exemption in Missouri Eastern Railroad--Acquisition & Change of
Operator Exemption--V and S Railway, Docket No. FD 36550. In that
proceeding, MER has filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49
CFR 1150.31 to acquire: (1) From V and S Railway, LLC, an
approximately42.89-mile rail line between milepost 19.0 near Vigus,
Mo., and milepost 61.89 near Union, Mo.; and (2) incidental overhead
trackage rights over a rail line owned by Union Pacific Railroad
Company between milepost 19.0 near Vigus and milepost 10.3 at Rock
Island Junction, Mo.
Jaguar states that it will continue in control of MER upon MER's
becoming a Class III rail carrier. According to the verified notice,
OPTrust indirectly controls JTH, which currently controls, indirectly:
Three Class III railroads directly controlled by JRH--Southwestern
Railroad, Inc., Texas & Eastern Railroad, LLC, and Wyoming and Colorado
Railroad, Inc., (WYCO) (which also does business under the name Oregon
Eastern Railroad); two Class III railroads indirectly controlled by JRH
through WYCO--Cimarron Valley Railroad, L.C., and Washington Eastern
Railroad, LLC; and one Class III railroad indirectly controlled by JTH
through its subsidiary Jaguar Transport, LLC--West Memphis Base
Railroad, L.L.C. The lines of the rail carriers controlled by JTH and
JRH are located in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington.
Jaguar states that: (1) The Line does not connect with any other
rail lines operated by carriers controlled by JTH or JRH and none of
those rail lines connect with each other; (2) the continuance in
control transaction is not part of a series of anticipated transactions
that would connect the Line with any other rail lines in the JTH or JRH
corporate families or that would connect any of those rail lines with
each other; and (3) the transaction does not involve a Class I rail
carrier. Therefore, the proposed 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. Because this
transaction involves Class III rail carriers only, the Board, under the
statute, may not impose labor protective conditions for this
transaction.
The earliest this transaction may be consummated is November 24,
2021, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified
notice was filed). 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
November 17, 2021.
All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36551, should be filed
with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's
website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on
Jaguar's representative, Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29
North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
According to Jaguar, 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 <a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>.
Decided: November 5, 2021.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Brendetta Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-24583 Filed 11-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 10, 2021.
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