Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 163 / Friday, August 22, 1997 / Notices 44749

3According to applicants, the corporate merger of

Meridian into Pennington, followed by the

corporate merger of Pennington into MBRR, will

result in MBRR’s complete assumption of

Meridian’s railroad operations and corporate

obligations. Applicants also state that MBRR, as the

corporate successor of Meridian, will conduct

Meridian’s railroad operations without material

change.

4Applicants note, however, that MBRR is

inheriting, and affirmatively assuming, all of

Meridian’s collective bargaining agreements with

the labor organizations that represent its employees,

and MBRR will continue the employment of all of

Meridian’s employees covered by such collective

bargaining agreements.

controlled by JRP. Upon consummation

of the transaction, Pennington will

remain as the surviving corporation and

Pennington will therefore become a

Class III rail carrier. Pennington will

then merge into M&B Railroad, L.L.C.

(MBRR), a noncarrier entity wholly

owned and controlled by applicants,3

and applicants will thereby assume

control of Pennington. Applicants state

that the transaction was expected to be

consummated on or about July 31, 1997.

Applicants state that: (1) The merged

MBRR will not connect with any other

railroad in the RMCC Rail Group; (2)

MBRR’s merger with Pennington is not

part of a series of anticipated

transactions that would connect the

railroads of the RMCC Rail Group with

each other; and (3) the transaction does

not involve a Class I carrier. The

transaction therefore is exempt from the

prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C.

11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2). The

purpose of the transaction is to transfer

ownership of, and responsibility for,

Pennington from JRP to applicants,

thereby enabling JRP to concentrate on

its core business operations, without

distractions related to its single railroad

operation, while allowing applicants to

expand their railroad operations into a

new part of the country. MBRR will

continue to handle freight for customers

Meridian previously served, without

material changes in the level or quality

of transportation service provided.

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. Section 11326 (c), however,

does not provide for labor protection for

transactions under sections 11324–25

that involve only Class III rail carriers.

Because this transaction involves Class

III rail carriers only, the Board, under

statute, may not impose labor protective

conditions for this transaction.4

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 stay the transaction. An

original and 10 copies of all pleadings,

referring to STB Finance Docket No.

33435, 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: Donald G.

Avery, Slover & Loftus, 1224

Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington,

DC 20036.

Decided: August 18, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–22329 Filed 8–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB–55 (Sub–No. 521X)]

CSX Transportation, Inc.;

Abandonment Exemption; in Fulton

County, GA

On August 4, 1997, CSX

Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), filed with

the Surface Transportation Board

(Board) a petition under 49 U.S.C. 10502

for exemption from the provisions of 49

U.S.C. 10903 to abandon a portion of its

line of railroad known as the Atlanta

Terminal Subdivision, extending from

railroad milepost ANB–864.04 near

Wheeler St. to railroad milepost ANB–

864.62 at the end of the track at

Simpson St., which traverses U.S. Postal

Service zip Code 30318, a distance of

0.58 miles, in Fulton County, Ga. CSXT

has indicated that there are no stations

on the line.

The line does not contain federally

granted rights-of-way. Any

documentation in CSXT’s possession

will be made available promptly to

those requesting it.

The interest of railroad employees

will be protected by the conditions set

forth in Oregon Short Line R. Co.—

Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91

(1979).

By issuance of this notice, the Board

is instituting an exemption proceeding

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502(b). A final

decision will be issued by November 21,

1997.

Any offer of financial assistance

(OFA) under 49 CFR 1152.27(b)(2) will

be due no later than 10 days after

service of a decision granting the

petition for exemption. Each OFA must

be accompanied by a $900 filing fee. See

49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).

All interested persons should be

aware that following abandonment of

rail service and salvage of the line, the

line may be suitable for other public

use, including interim trail use. Any

request for a public use condition under

49 CFR 1152.28 or for trail use/rail

banking under 49 CFR 1152.29 will be

due no later than September 11, 1997.

Each trail use request must be

accompanied by a $150 filing fee. See 49

CFR 1002.2(f)(27).

All filings in response to this notice

must refer to STB Docket No. AB–55

(Sub-No. 521X) and must be sent to: (1)

Surface Transportation Board, Office of

the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K

Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423–

0001; and (2) Charles M. Rosenberger,

500 Water Street, Jacksonville, FL

32202.

Persons seeking further information

concerning abandonment procedures

may contact the Board’s Office of Public

Services at (202) 565–1592 or refer to

the full abandonment or discontinuance

regulations at 49 CFR part 1152.

Questions concerning environmental

issues may be directed to the Board’s

Section of Environmental Analysis

(SEA) at (202) 565–1545. (TDD for the

hearing impaired is available at (202)

565–1695.)

An environmental assessment (EA) (or

environmental impact statement (EIS), if

necessary) prepared by SEA will be

served upon all parties of record and

upon any agencies or other persons who

commented during its preparation.

Other interested persons may contact

SEA to obtain a copy of the EA (or EIS).

EAs in these abandonment proceedings

normally will be made available within

60 days of the filing of the petition. The

deadline for submission of comments on

the EA will generally be within 30 days

of its service.

Decided: August 18, 1997.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–22330 Filed 8–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request For Form 9117

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.