EMPLOYER STATUS DETERMINATION

Columbiana County Port Authority

JUN 1 4 2002

This is the determination ofthe Railroad Retirement Board regarding the status of

Columbiana County Port Authority (CCPA) as an employer under the Railroad 

Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231 et seq.)(RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment 

Insurance Act (45 U.S.C.§ 351 et seq.YRUIA).

CCPA acquired a line ofrailroad, which extends from Darlington, Pennsylvania to

Youngstown, Ohio from Railroad Ventures, Inc.1 2, in January 2001. That

acquisition was authorized by the Surface Transportation Board in Surface

Transportation Board Docket No. AB-556 (Sub-No.2X):. All rail services over the

line are performed by the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railway, Inc., a

covered employer under the Acts effective March 1, 2001 (B.A. No. 2275). CCPA

is a quasi-public agency established by the Board ofCounty Commissioners of

Columbiana County, Ohio. CCPA acquired the rail line to enhance the business 

environment in Columbiana County by assuring continued access to rail service by

businesses located along the line or in close proximity thereto.

Section 1(a)(1) ofthe Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231(a)(1)), insofar as

relevant here, defines a covered employer as:

(i) any carrier by railroad subject to the jurisdiction ofthe

Surface Transportation Board under Part A ofsubtitle IV oftitle 49,

United States Code;

(ii) any company which is directly or indirectly owned or

controlled by, or under common control with, one or more employers

as defined in paragraph (i) ofthis subdivision, and which operates any

1 Railroad Ventures, which was held initially and on reconsideration to be an employer under the Acts effective 

November 6, 1996 (B.A. Number 9354; B C.D, Nos. 98-48 and 00-47). was formed to acquire the assets ofthe 

Youngstown & Southern Railroad Company, which assets were then operated by the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad

Company, a rail carrier employer under the Acts (B.A. No. 2264).

2 See decision dated October 3, 2000. which ordered Railroad Ventures to transfer the rail line to CCPA within 45

days ofthe effective date ofthe decision, November 3, 2000.
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Columbiana County Port Authority7

equipment or facility or performs any service (except trucking service, 

casual service, and the casual operation of equipment or facilities) in

connection with the transportation of passengers or property by

railroad * * *.

Sections 1(a) and 1(b) ofthe Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. §§

351(a) and (b)) contain substantially similar definitions, as does section 3231 ofthe

Railroad Retirement Tax Act (26 U.S.C. § 3231).

The Board notes that in its reconsideration decision which held Railroad Ventures, 

Inc., to be a covered employer (B.C.D. 00-47), the Board held that an entity that

has STB authority to operate a rail line, but leases or contracts with another to 

operate the line in question, is covered under the Acts administered by the Board 

unless the Board determines that the entity is not a carrier. The Board enunciated a

three-part test in that decision to be applied in making this determination. An

entity that leases a line to another company or contracts with another company to

operate the line, is a carrier under the Railroad Retirement Act unless the Board

finds that all three ofthe following factors exist: 1) the entity does not have as a

primary business purpose to profit from railroad activities; 2) the entity does not

operate or retain the capacity to operate the rail line; and 3) the operator ofthe rail

line is already covered or would be found to be covered under the Acts

administered by the Board.

CCPA does not have as a primary business purpose to profit from railroad

activities. As described above, it acquired the rail line to enhance the business

environment in Columbiana County by assuring continued access to rail service. 

CCPA does not operate and never has had the capacity to operate the rail line in 

question. The company which does operate the rail line, the Central Columbiana

& Pennsylvania Railway, Inc., is a covered employer under the Acts (B.A. No.

2275). Accordingly, in this case, the Board finds that all three factors exist, and
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Columbiana County Port Authority

concludes therefore that CCPA is not a carrier and is thus not a covered employer 

under the Acts.

Cherryl T? Thomas

-i- V. M. Speakman, Jr.