Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 19 / Friday, January 30, 2009 / Notices 5727 

STR will own all of the assets of ALAB 

and A&F, and STR will be responsible 

for all debts, liabilities, and obligations 

of ALAB and A&F. 

The transaction is expected to be 

consummated on or after February 15, 

2009 (30 days after the exemption was 

filed). 

STR, ALAB, and A&F are affiliated 

Class III rail carriers, all of which are 

controlled by noncarrier holding 

company, Pioneer Railcorp (Pioneer). 

STR operates approximately 2.5 miles of 

rail line in Illinois. ALAB operates 

approximately 60 miles of rail line in 

Alabama. A&F operates approximately 

43 miles of rail line in Alabama. 

The purpose of the transaction is to 

simplify Pioneer’s corporate structure 

and reduce overhead costs and 

duplication by eliminating two 

corporations while retaining the same 

assets to serve customers. The 

transaction will also streamline 

accounting functions within the Pioneer 

corporate family. Although ALAB and 

A&F will cease to exist as separate 

corporate entities, STR will operate the 

respective rail properties under the 

trade name the Alabama Railroad, while 

retaining the ALAB and A&F reporting 

marks assigned by the Association of 

American Railroads. 

This is a transaction within a 

corporate family of the type exempted 

from prior review and approval under 

49 CFR 1180.2(d)(3). The parties state 

that the transaction will not result in 

adverse changes in service levels, 

significant operational changes, or 

changes in the competitive balance with 

carriers outside the Pioneer corporate 

family. 

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 is 

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. Accordingly, the Board may not 

impose labor protective conditions here, 

because all of the carriers involved are 

Class III rail carriers. 

If the 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 will be due no later 

than February 6, 2009 (at least 7 days 

before the effective date of the 

exemption). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 35214, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423– 

0001. In addition, one copy of each 

pleading must be served on applicants’ 

representatives, Robert A. Wimbish, 

2401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Suite 

300, Washington, DC 20037, and Daniel 

A. LaKemper, 1318 S. Johanson Road, 

Peoria, IL 61607. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: January 22, 2009. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–1843 Filed 1–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 646 (Sub–No. 2)] 

Simplified Standards for Rail Rate 

Cases—Taxes in Revenue Shortfall 

Allocation Method 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board. 

ACTION: Notice of decision. 

SUMMARY: By a decision served on 

January 30, 2009, the Board directed the 

Association of American Railroads 

(AAR), and permitted other parties, to 

file supplemental evidence so that the 

Board has a full record on which to base 

its methodology to calculate a railroadspecific average state tax rate for use in 

the Revenue Shortfall Allocation 

Method (RSAM). 

DATES: AAR is directed to file 

supplemental evidence by February 19, 

2009. Any interested person may reply 

by March 11, 2009. AAR’s rebuttal is 

due March 25, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy J. Strafford, (202) 245–0356. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 

800–877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board 

recently found that the failure to 

include state and federal taxes in RSAM 

calculations was material error. The 

Board concluded that the use of the 

statutory federal tax rate, combined with 

a railroad-specific weighted average 

state tax rate, best approximated the 

marginal taxes that the carrier would 

pay on the incremental revenue 

hypothesized by RSAM. 

The decision served on January 30, 

2009, directed AAR to submit the 

evidence and calculations necessary to 

establish carrier-specific average state 

tax rates for each Class I railroad, 

including state corporate income tax 

rates and the number of miles operated 

by each carrier in each state it operates 

in for each of the years 2002–2007, by 

February 19, 2009. Any interested 

person may reply by March 11, 2009. 

AAR’s rebuttal is due March 25, 2009. 

Once there is resolution to any disputes 

over how to calculate the carrierspecific state tax rates, the Board will 

publish the new RSAM figures. 

Additional information is contained 

in the Board’s decision. A copy of the 

Board’s decision is available for 

inspection or copying at the Board’s 

Public Docket Room, Room 131, 395 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423– 

0001, and is posted on the Board’s Web 

site, http://www.stb.dot.gov. 

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Decided: January 23, 2008. 

By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice 

Chairman Mulvey, and Commissioner 

Buttrey. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–2056 Filed 1–29–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

[OMB Control No. 2900–0074] 

Agency Information Collection 

(Request for Change of Program or 

Place of Training) Activities Under 

OMB Review 

AGENCY: Veterans Benefits 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3521), this notice 

announces that the Veterans Benefits 

Administration (VBA), Department of 

Veterans Affairs, will submit the 

collection of information abstracted 

below to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and comment. 

The PRA submission describes the 

nature of the information collection and 

its expected cost and burden; it includes 

the actual data collection instrument. 

DATE: Comments must be submitted on 

or before March 2, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on the collection of information through 

http://www.Regulations.gov or to VA’s 

OMB Desk Officer, OMB Human 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES