Notice2024-13159
Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V.-Acquisition of Control Exemption-Copper Basin Railway, Inc.
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 14, 2024
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 116 (Friday, June 14, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 116 (Friday, June 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50661-50662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13159]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36767]
Grupo M[eacute]xico, S.A.B. de C.V.--Acquisition of Control
Exemption--Copper Basin Railway, Inc.
Grupo M[eacute]xico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GM), a noncarrier holding
company, has filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR
1180.2(d)(2) for after-the-fact authority to acquire control of Copper
Basin Railway, Inc. (CBRY), a Class III rail carrier that owns and
operates a rail line in Arizona.\1\ According to a supplemental filing
by GM, CBRY's line consists of a 54.6-mile main line between Magma
Junction, at milepost 948.9, and Winkleman, at milepost 1003.5; a four-
mile branch line from Ray Junction, at milepost 987.8, to Ray; and a
two-mile branch line from Hayden
[[Page 50662]]
Junction, at milepost 1000.2, to Hayden Smelter.
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\1\ By decision served April 4, 2024, in another proceeding, the
Board directed GM[eacute]xico Transportes, S.A.B. de C.V. (GMXT), a
subsidiary of GM and the applicant in that proceeding, to clarify
the status of CBRY given the apparent absence of authorization for
GM to acquire common control of more than one rail carrier when it
acquired CBRY. See GM[eacute]xico Transportes, S.A.B. de C.V.--
Acquis. of Control Exemption--CG Ry., FD 36701, slip op. at 3 (STB
served Apr. 4, 2024). The April 2024 decision in Docket No. FD 36701
noted that a filing by GMXT and GM in a 2017 exemption proceeding
identified CBRY as a Class III carrier controlled by GM, and that GM
had been expected at that time to promptly seek authorization for
common control if such authority were required. Id. (citing Grupo
M[eacute]xico, S.A.B. de C.V.--Control Exemption--Fla. E. Coast
Holdings Corp., FD 36109, slip op. at 1 n.2 (STB served May 9,
2017)).
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The verified notice states that, through an indirect, wholly owned
subsidiary named ASARCO LLC (ASARCO), GM acquired a 100% ownership
interest in CBRY in 2006.\2\ According to the verified notice, at the
time of the transaction GM also controlled (through its subsidiary
GMXT) Texas Pacifico Transportation, Ltd. (Pacifico), a Class III rail
carrier operating in the State of Texas. Thereafter, in 2017, GM
acquired control of Florida East Coast Railway, LLC (FECR), a Class II
rail carrier that owns and operates approximately 351 miles of main
line track, as well as additional branch, switching, and other
secondary track, along the east coast of Florida. See Grupo
M[eacute]xico, S.A.B. de C.V.--Control Exemption--Fla. E. Coast
Holdings Corp., FD 36109 (STB served May 9, 2017). The verified notice
certifies that GM and its subsidiaries have not entered into any
agreement with respect to the transaction that includes a provision
that may limit future interchange with a third-party connecting
carrier.
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\2\ According to the verified notice, prior to that transaction,
ASARCO held a 45% interest in CBRY, with the remaining 55% held by
Rail Partners II, LLC, a now-defunct Florida limited liability
corporation.
Public and confidential versions of the agreement under which GM
acquired full ownership of CBRY were filed with the verified notice.
The confidential version was submitted under seal concurrently with
a motion for protective order, which was granted by a decision
served on May 13, 2024.
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GM represents that none of the railroads in the GM corporate family
connect with each other; that no further transactions are planned that
would create a connection between any GM railroads; and that no GM-
controlled railroad is a Class I carrier. GM further states that for
the same reasons, GM's acquisition of control of CBRY qualified for an
exemption at the time of the transaction and has remained qualified at
every point in time since then. The transaction is therefore exempt
from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323 pursuant to 49
CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
The earliest this exemption may become effective is June 28, 2024
(30 days after the verified notice was filed).\3\
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\3\ Because GM supplemented its verified notice of exemption on
May 29, 2024, that date is deemed the filing date of the verified
notice.
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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. In addition to two Class III
rail carriers (CBRY and Pacifico), this after-the-fact notice of a
continuance-in-control exemption involves a Class II rail carrier,
FECR. Accordingly, the transaction is subject to the labor protection
requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11326(b) and Wisconsin Central Ltd.--
Acquisition Exemption--Lines of Union Pacific Railroad, 2 S.T.B. 218
(1997).
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 21, 2024
(at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36767, 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, one copy of each pleading must be served on
GM's representative, Charles A. Spitulnik, Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell,
LLP, 1634 I (Eye) Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.
According to GM, this action is categorically excluded from
environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from historic reporting
requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b).
Board decisions and notices are available at <a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>.
Decided: June 11, 2024.
By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2024-13159 Filed 6-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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