Notice2025-04302
Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V GP, LLC, et al.-Continuance in Control-North Florida Industrial Railroad, LLC; North Florida Industrial Railroad, LLC-Lease and Operation Exemption-Rail Line in Columbia County, Fla.
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
March 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 51 (Tuesday, March 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12633-12634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04302]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36823; Docket No. FD 36824]
Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V GP, LLC, et al.--Continuance
in Control--North Florida Industrial Railroad, LLC; North Florida
Industrial Railroad, LLC--Lease and Operation Exemption--Rail Line in
Columbia County, Fla.
By petition filed on January 7, 2025, in Macquarie Infrastructure
Partners V GP, LLC--Continuance in Control--North Florida Industrial
Railroad, LLC, Docket No. FD 36823, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V
GP, LLC (MIP GP), for the benefit of the Macquarie Infrastructure
Partners V fund vehicle (MIP V); MIP V Rail, LLC (MIP Rail); Pinsly
Holdco, LLC; and Pinsly Railroad Company, LLC (Pinsly), all non-
carriers (together, Petitioners), seeks an exemption under 49 U.S.C.
10502 from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323 to
continue in control of North Florida Industrial Railroad, LLC (NFIR),
when NFIR becomes a Class III rail carrier.\1\ As discussed below, the
Board will grant the petition for exemption.
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\1\ These proceedings are not consolidated. A single decision is
being issued for administrative purposes.
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Background
NFIR is a noncarrier that has been organized to lease and operate
4,891 feet of track in Columbia County, Fla. (the Line), connecting the
North Florida Mega Industrial Park (Park) with a rail line operated by
Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, LLC (FG&A). (Pet. 2-3.) NFIR is owned
by Pinsly.\1\
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\1\ According to the Petition, ``Pinsly is wholly owned by
Pinsly Holdco, LLC, which is wholly owned by MIP Rail, which in turn
is wholly owned (indirectly) by MIP V, which is controlled by MIP
GP.'' (Pet. 3 n.1.) In addition to NFIR, Pinsly currently controls
seven rail common carriers. (Id. at 3.) Those seven rail carriers
are FG&A; Grenada Railroad, LLC; Camp Chase Rail, LLC; Chesapeake
and Indiana Railroad, LLC; Vermilion Valley Railroad Company LLC;
Pioneer Valley Railroad Company, LLC; and Hondo Railway, LLC. (Id.
at 3-4.)
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In a related transaction in North Florida Industrial Railroad,
LLC--Lease and Operation Exemption--Rail Line in Columbia County, Fla.,
Docket No. FD 36824, NFIR filed a verified notice of exemption to lease
and operate the Line. According to the verified notice, the Line is
currently owned by Columbia County, Fla., a noncarrier, and is
inactive. (Notice 2.) Notice of the exemption was served and published
in the Federal Register on January 23, 2025 (90 FR 8088). The notice
held the effective date of the exemption in abeyance pending review of
the petition for exemption in Docket No. FD 36823.\2\
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\2\ On February 12, 2025, Steven Connolly filed a letter in
Docket No. FD 36824. Mr. Connolly's letter was addressed to U.S.
Representative Kat Cammack requesting her office's assistance in
expediting these proceedings.
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Petitioners explain that the proposed continuance in control
transaction does not qualify for the class exemption under 49 CFR
1180.2(d)(2) because the Line connects with FG&A's line at milepost 688
near Lake City, Florida.\3\ (Pet. 4.); see 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2)
(requiring that the subject line not connect with any other rail lines
in the corporate family to qualify for a class exemption). Petitioners
state that the transaction will only connect FG&A and NFIR; no other
Pinsly railroad would interconnect with NFIR (or FG&A). (Pet. 4.)
Petitioners further state that no current or future shippers will lose
access or potential access to alternative rail service as a result of
the transactions contemplated in the petition or related notice of
exemption; instead, the transactions will ensure the availability of
rail service to the Park's customers. (Id.)
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\3\ Although the petition states that the connection will be
located at milepost ``888,'' (Pet. 4), the maps attached to the
notice show the milepost as being 688. (Pet., Ex. 1.)
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In support of their petition, Petitioners state that a full review
of the continuance in control transaction is not needed to carry out
the Rail Transportation Policy (RTP) of 49 U.S.C. 10101. (Pet. 5.)
Specifically, Petitioners assert that their continuance in control of
NFIR will either advance or have no effect on each of the RTP factors.
(Id. at 6-10.) They argue that granting the petition for exemption will
facilitate rail service to new customers, thereby expanding their
transportation options; save Petitioners from having to incur the
expense of filing a full application; save the Board from having to
devote time and resources to considering a full application; and enable
NFIR to benefit from Pinsly's operational expertise and experience.
(Id.) Petitioners further state that this is a ``modest shortline
transaction'' involving less than a mile of rail track and presents no
threat of an abuse of market power. (Id. at 5.)
Discussion and Conclusions
Under 49 U.S.C. 11323(a)(5), prior approval by the Board is
required for the acquisition of control of a rail carrier by a person
that is not a rail carrier but that controls any number of rail
carriers. Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(a), however, the Board, to the maximum
extent consistent with 49 U.S.C. subtitle IV part A, must exempt a
transaction from regulation when it finds that (1) regulation is not
necessary to carry out the RTP, and (2) either (a) the transaction is
limited in scope, or (b) regulation is not needed to protect shippers
from the abuse of market power.
In this case, an exemption from the prior approval requirements of
49 U.S.C. 11323-25 is consistent with the standards of 49 U.S.C.
10502(a). Detailed scrutiny of the proposed transaction through an
application for review and approval under sections 11323-25 is not
necessary to carry out the RTP. Permitting Petitioners to continue in
control of NFIR without having to file an application would promote the
RTP by minimizing the need for federal regulatory control over the
proposed transaction, 49 U.S.C. 10101(2); reducing regulatory barriers
to entry into and exit from the industry, 49 U.S.C. 10101(7); and
providing for the expeditious resolution of this proceeding, 49 U.S.C.
10101(15). Additionally, the transaction here will allow Petitioners--
including Pinsly, an experienced rail operator--to manage the
introduction of rail service to new customers, thereby ensuring the
continuation of a sound rail transportation system that would continue
to meet the needs of the public, 49 U.S.C. 10101(4); fostering sound
economic conditions in transportation, 49 U.S.C. 10101(5); and
encouraging efficient management of railroads, 49 U.S.C. 10101(9).
Other aspects of the RTP would not be adversely affected.
Regulation of the control transaction is not needed to protect
shippers from an abuse of market power.\4\ As noted, no rail service
currently is provided over the Line, so NFIR's lease and operation of
the Line and Petitioners' related continuance in control will provide
shippers in the Park with a new transportation option. Additionally,
[[Page 12634]]
because the Line connects only to FG&A, (see Pet., Ex. 1-A), there is
no risk that FG&A may foreclose interchange with other connecting
carriers or that shippers will otherwise lose access to alternative
rail service as a result of the transaction. Further, no shipper (or
any other entity) has objected to the proposed control transaction or
NFIR's lease and operation of the line in Docket No. FD 36824.
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\4\ Given this finding, the Board need not determine whether the
transaction is limited in scope. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(a).
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Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption
authority to relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect
the interests of employees. Section 11326(c), however, does not provide
for labor protection for transactions under sections 11324 and 11325
that involve only Class III rail carriers. Therefore, because all of
the carriers involved in the continuance in control transaction are
Class III carriers, the Board may not impose labor protective
conditions.
The control transaction is exempt from environmental reporting
requirements under 49 CFR 1105.6(c)(1)(i) because it will not result in
any significant change in carrier operations. Similarly, the
transaction is exempt from the historic reporting requirements under 49
CFR 1105.8(b)(3) because it will not substantially change the level of
maintenance of railroad properties.
It is ordered:
1. Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board exempts from the prior approval
requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323-25 Petitioners' continuance in control
of NFIR when NFIR becomes a Class III rail carrier.
2. Notice of the exemption will be published in the Federal
Register.
3. The continuance in control exemption in Docket No. FD 36823 will
become effective on April 11, 2025. Petitions for stay must be filed by
March 24, 2025. Petitions to reopen must be filed by April 1, 2025.
4. NFIR's lease and operation exemption in Docket No. FD 36824 will
be effective on April 11, 2025. Petitions for stay must be filed by
April 1, 2025.
Decided: March 12, 2025.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, Primus, and Schultz.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-04302 Filed 3-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 18, 2025.
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