4016 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 16 / Tuesday, January 25, 2000 / Notices

1 KCSI is a publicly traded, noncarrier holding

company with both rail and nonrail assets. KCSL,

a noncarrier holding company which owns direct

and indirect interests in rail transportation

companies, is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of

KCSI. KCSR, a Class I rail carrier operating in the

States of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri,

Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Tennessee, and Alabama, is a wholly owned

subsidiary of KCSL and an indirect wholly owned

subsidiary of KCSI. KCST, a noncarrier, is a wholly

owned subsidiary of KCSL and an indirect wholly

owned subsidiary of KCSI. KCST owns all of the

stock of GWWR, a Class II rail carrier operating in

the States of Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. GWWR

owns all of the stock of GWER, a Class III rail carrier

operating in the State of Illinois.

2Upon completion of the transaction, KCSR will

indirectly control GWWR and GWER.

project in Merced County,in Merced

County, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Robert F. Tally, Team Leader, District

Operations—North, California Division,

980 9th Street, Suite 400, Sacramento,

CA 95814–2724, Telephone: (916) 498–

5020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

FHWA, in cooperation with the

California Department of Transportation

(Caltrans) and the Merced County

Department of Public Works, will

prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) on a proposal to

construct a regional arterial, the Campus

Parkway, in Merced County. The

proposed project would involve the

construction of an alignment, between

the State Route 99/Mission Avenue

Interchange to the southwest and the

Bellevue Road to the northeast. The

project would be approximately 10.5

kilometers (6.5 miles) in length.

Construction of this corridor is

considered necessary to provide for the

locally projected future traffic demand

and conform with the regional

transportation planning for the year

2020. The proposed project would

provide access to the Merced’s eastern

industrial area, the northern area of the

city of Merced, and the University

Community Specific Use Development

Plan area near Lake Yosemite, which

encompasses the site for the campus of

the University of California at Merced.

Alternatives under consideration

include: (1) Taking no action and (2)

constructing a four-lane limited access

highway on the ultimate six-lane Rightof-Way. Incorporated into and studied

with the various build alternatives will

be design variations of grade and

alignment.

Letter describing the proposed action

and soliciting comments will be sent to

appropriate Federal, State, and Local

agencies, and to private organizations

and citizens who have previously

expressed or are known to have interest

in this proposal. Public information

meetings will be held in Merced County

between March and November 2000. In

addition, a public hearing will be held.

Public notice will be given of the time

and place of the meetings and hearing.

The draft EIS will be available for public

and agency review and comment prior

to the public hearing. No formal scoping

meeting is planned at this time.

To ensure that the full range of issues

relate to this proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues are

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS should be

directed to the FHWA at the address

provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

program Number 20.205, Highway research,

Planning and Construction. The regulations

implementing Executive Order 12372

regarding intergovernmental consultation on

Federal programs and activities apply to this

program)

Issued on: January 19, 2000.

Robert F. Tally,

Team Leader, District Operations—North

California Division, Federal Highway

Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–1712 Filed 1–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33844]

Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc.,

et al.—Corporate Family Transaction

Exemption

Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc.

(KCSI), Kansas City Southern Lines, Inc.

(KCSL), The Kansas City Southern

Railway Company (KCSR), KCS

Transportation Company (KCST),

Gateway Western Railway Company

(GWWR), and Gateway Eastern Railway

Company (GWER) (collectively,

applicants),1 have filed a verified notice

of exemption. The exempt transaction

involves KCSR’s acquisition of KCST’s

rail subsidiaries, GWWR and GWER,

through acquiring KCST’s stock from

KCSL.

The applicants reported that they

intended to consummate the transaction

immediately upon the effective date of

the exemption. The earliest the

transaction could be consummated was

January 17, 2000, 7 days after the

exemption was filed.2

The purpose of the transaction is to

facilitate the planned spinoff of KCSI’s

financial subsidiaries into a corporation

separate from KCSI, and to bring all of

KCSI’s commonly controlled railroads

under the direct control of KCSR.

This is a transaction within a

corporate family of the type specifically

exempted from prior review and

approval under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(3).

The applicants state that the transaction

will not result in adverse changes in

service levels, significant operational

changes, or a change in the competitive

balance with carriers outside the

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 its

employees. Although applicants do not

expect any employees to be adversely

affected by this control transaction, they

have agreed to apply employee

protective conditions pursuant to 49

U.S.C. 11326(a). Therefore, any

employees adversely affected by the

control transaction will be protected by

the conditions set forth in New York

Dock Ry.—Control—Brooklyn Eastern

Dist., 360 I.C.C. 60 (1979).

If the verified notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio. Petitions to reopen the

proceeding to revoke the exemption

under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed

at any time. The filing of a petition to

reopen will not automatically stay the

transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all

pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 33844, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on William A.

Mullins, Esq., Troutman Sanders, LLP,

1300 I Street, N.W., Suite 500 East,

Washington, DC 20005–3314.

Board decisions and notices are

available on our website at

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’

Decided: January 18, 2000.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–1648 Filed 1–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

[T.D. 00–6]

Bonds; Approval To Use Authorized

Facsimile Signatures and Seals

The use of facsimile signatures and

seals on Customs bonds by the