Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Notices 42965 

1The proposed transaction also includes an 

ancillary assignment of CSXT’s trackage rights over 

Illinois Central Railroad Company (IC) between the 

Decatur Street road crossing at or near milepost 77.7 

and milepost 76.7 on IC’s Peoria Subdivision, 

including IC’s connection with CSXT between 

milepost 30.5 and milepost 28.6 on IC’s Peoria 

Subdivision, and between IC’s lead track from its 

connection to the Green Switch Spur to IC’s 

connection with the ADM Run-Around-Yard at 

Decatur, Ill., on IC’s Peoria Subdivision, a total 

distance of approximately 3.6 miles. 

2The sentence on page 3 of the notice stating that 

Watco controls 38 Class III railroads and operates 

in 26 states is inconsistent with the list of carriers 

and states listed on pages 5–11. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

United States and Chile negotiated the 

United States-Chile FTA and United 

States-Chile ECA in concert, signing the 

FTA on June 6, 2003, in Miami, USA 

and the ECA on June 17, 2003, in 

Santiago, Chile. Article 19.3 of the FTA 

establishes an Environment Affairs 

Council (Council). The Council 

discusses implementation of Chapter 19 

of the FTA, and its meetings include a 

public session. The Joint Commission 

on Environmental Cooperation 

(Commission) was established in Article 

II of the ECA. The Commission 

evaluates cooperative activities under 

the ECA, recommends options for 

improving cooperation, and establishes 

work programs that reflect national 

priorities and that identify the scope 

and focus of environmental cooperation 

activities. Commission meetings also 

include a public session. 

The Council and Commission last met 

in August 2015 in Washington, DC. The 

Council reviewed the implementation of 

the Environment Chapter of the FTA. 

The Commission approved the 2015– 

2017 Work Program, which built on 

previous successes and identified 

activities to achieve the long-term goals 

of: (1) Strengthening effective 

implementation and enforcement of 

environmental laws and regulations; (2) 

encouraging development and adoption 

of sound environmental practices and 

technologies, particularly in business 

enterprises; (3) promoting sustainable 

development and management of 

environmental resources, including 

wild fauna and flora, protected wild 

areas, and other ecologically important 

ecosystems; and (4) encouraging civil 

society participation in the 

environmental decision-making process 

and environmental education. 

During the Council and Commission 

meetings, Members will discuss the 

progress made in implementing Chapter 

19 obligations and the impacts of 

environmental cooperation. The 

Commission will also finalize an 

updated Environmental Cooperation 

Work Program for 2018–2020. More 

information on the Council and 

Commission is included below under 

Supplementary Information. 

All interested persons are invited to 

attend the Council and Commission 

joint public session beginning at 10:00 

a.m. on September 5, 2018, at the 

Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 180 

Teatinos St., Santiago, Chile. Attendees 

will have an opportunity to ask 

questions and discuss implementation 

of Chapter 19 and the ECA with Council 

and Commission Members and 

environmental cooperation 

implementers. At the public session, the 

Council will receive input from the 

public on current environmental issues 

and ideas for future cooperation. The 

Department of State and Office of the 

United States Trade Representative 

invite written comments or suggestions 

regarding topics to be discussed at the 

meeting. In preparing comments, we 

encourage submitters to refer to Chapter 

19 of the FTA and the ECA (available 

at http://www.state.gov/e/oes/eqt/trade/ 

chile/index.htm). 

If you would like to attend the public 

session, please notify Keri Holland and 

Tia Potskhverashvili at the email 

addresses listed above under the 

heading ADDRESSES. Please include your 

full name and identify any organization 

or group you represent. In preparing 

comments, we encourage submitters to 

refer to: 

• Chapter 19 of the FTA, and 

• The ECA. 

These documents are available at: 

http://www.state.gov/e/oes/eqt/trade/ 

chile/index.htm. Visit http://

www.state.gov and the USTR website at 

www.ustr.gov for more information. 

Robert D. Wing, 

Acting Director, Office of Environmental 

Quality and Transboundary Issues, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18242 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. FD 36209] 

Watco Holdings, Inc.—Continuance in 

Control Exemption—Decatur & Eastern 

Illinois Railroad, L.L.C. 

Watco Holdings, Inc. (Watco), a 

noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of 

exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 

1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of 

Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad, 

L.L.C. (DEIR), upon DEIR’s becoming a 

Class III rail carrier. Watco owns, 

indirectly, 100% of the issued and 

outstanding stock of DEIR, a limited 

liability company. 

This transaction is related to a 

concurrently filed verified notice of 

exemption in Decatur & Eastern Illinois 

Railroad—Acquisition Exemption 

Containing Interchange Commitment— 

CSX Transportation, Inc., Docket No. 

FD 36206, by which DEIR seeks Board 

approval to acquire and operate 

approximately 126.7 miles of track 

owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. 

(CSXT), consisting of: (1) CSXT’s 

Decatur Subdivision starting near 

Montezuma, Ind., at milepost BD 192.4 

and ending in Decatur, Ill., at milepost 

BD 277.2; (2) CSXT’s Danville 

Secondary Subdivision from near Terre 

Haute, Ind., at milepost QSD 72.2 to 

near Olivet, Ill., at milepost QSD 113.6; 

and (3) CSXT’s Paris Industrial Track 

located in Paris, Ill.1

The transaction may be consummated 

on or after September 8, 2018, the 

effective date of the exemption (30 days 

after the verified notice of exemption 

was filed). 

According to the verified notice of 

exemption, Watco currently controls, 

indirectly, 37 Class III rail carriers and 

one Class II rail carrier, collectively 

operating in 27 states. For a complete 

list of these rail carriers and the states 

in which they operate, see the August 9, 

2018 verified notice of exemption at 

pages 5–9 for a list of carriers and pages 

9–11 for a list of states.2 The verified 

notice is available on the Board’s 

website at www.stb.gov. 

Watco represents that: (1) The rail line 

to be operated by DEIR does not connect 

with any of the rail lines operated by 

railroads in the Watco corporate family; 

(2) the transaction is not part of a series 

of anticipated transactions that would 

result in such a connection; and (3) the 

transaction does not involve a Class I 

rail carrier. The proposed transaction is 

therefore exempt from the prior 

approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

11323 pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2). 

Watco states that the purpose of the 

transaction is to reduce overhead 

expenses and coordinate billing, 

maintenance, mechanical and personnel 

policies and procedures of its rail carrier 

subsidiaries, and thereby improve the 

overall efficiency of rail service 

provided by the railroads in the Watco 

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. Because the transaction 

involves the control of one Class II and 

one or more Class III rail carriers, the 

transaction is subject to the labor 

protection requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

11326(b) and Wisconsin Central Ltd.— 

Acquisition Exemption—Lines of Union 

Pacific Railroad, 2 S.T.B. 218 (1997). 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
42966 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Notices 

1 DEIR lists ‘‘Canadian National Railway’’ (CNR) 

as one of the third-party railroads that could 

physically interchange with the line sought to be 

acquired. The Board notes that the correct reference 

should be to Illinois Central Railroad Company 

(IC)—the CNR subsidiary over which DEIR will be 

assigned 3.6 miles of trackage rights (as described 

above) and the only CNR affiliate operating in the 

affected region. 

2The verified notice states that the transaction is 

expected to be consummated on or about September 

6, 2018, however, consummation of the transaction 

must await the effective date of the exemption. 

If the verified 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 effectiveness of 

the exemption. Petitions to stay must be 

filed by August 31, 2018 (at least seven 

days before the exemption becomes 

effective). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 

36209, 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 Karl Morell, Karl 

Morell & Associates, Suite 440, 440 1st 

Street NW, Washington, DC 20001. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our website at www.stb.gov. 

Decided: August 17, 2018. 

By the Board. 

Scott M. Zimmerman, 

Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Aretha Laws-Byrum, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18125 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. FD 36206] 

Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad, 

L.L.C.—Acquisition Exemption 

Containing Interchange Commitment— 

CSX Transportation, Inc. 

Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad, 

L.L.C. (DEIR), a noncarrier, has filed a 

verified notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1150.31 to acquire and operate 

approximately 126.7 miles of track (the 

Line) owned by CSX Transportation, 

Inc., (CSXT), consisting of: (1) CSXT’s 

Decatur Subdivision starting near 

Montezuma, Ind., at milepost BD 192.4 

and ending in Decatur, Ill., at milepost 

BD 277.2; (2) CSXT’s Danville 

Secondary Subdivision from near Terre 

Haute, Ind., at milepost QSD 72.2 to 

near Olivet, Ill., at milepost QSD 113.6; 

and (3) CSXT’s Paris Industrial Track 

located in Paris, Ill. As part of the 

transaction, CSXT will also assign its 

trackage rights over Illinois Central 

Railroad Company (IC) between the 

Decatur Street road crossing at or near 

milepost 77.7 and milepost 76.7 on IC’s 

Peoria Subdivision, including IC’s 

connection with CSXT between 

milepost 30.5 and milepost 28.6 on IC’s 

Peoria Subdivision, and between IC’s 

lead track from its connection to the 

Green Switch Spur to IC’s connection 

with the ADM Run-Around-Yard at 

Decatur, Ill., on IC’s Peoria Subdivision, 

a total distance of approximately 3.6 

miles. 

This transaction is related to a 

concurrently filed verified notice of 

exemption in Watco Holdings, Inc.— 

Continuance in Control Exemption— 

Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad, 

Docket No. FD 36209, in which Watco 

Holdings, Inc., seeks Board approval to 

continue in control of DEIR upon DEIR’s 

becoming a Class III rail carrier. 

The verified notice states that DEIR 

and CSXT will enter into a Purchase 

and Sale Agreement and a Freight 

Operating Agreement prior to closing, 

and that DEIR will be the operator of the 

acquired rail lines. As required by 49 

CFR 1150.33(h), DEIR has disclosed in 

its verified notice that the Freight 

Operating Agreement contains an 

interchange commitment that would 

require DEIR to pay additional 

compensation to CSXT if DEIR 

interchanges traffic with a third-party 

rail carrier and that the affected 

interchange points are Decatur, Metcalf, 

and Tuscola, Ill. DEIR has provided 

additional information pertaining to the 

interchange commitment as required by 

§ 1150.33(h).1

DEIR certifies that its projected 

annual revenues resulting from the 

transaction will not exceed those that 

would qualify it as a Class III rail 

carrier. However, DEIR states that its 

projected annual revenues will exceed 

$5 million. Accordingly, in compliance 

with 49 CFR 1150.32(e), on July 6, 2018, 

DEIR posted the required 60-day labor 

notice of this transaction at the 

workplaces of CSXT employees on the 

affected Line, served notice on the 

national offices of the labor unions for 

those employees, and filed a letter with 

the Board certifying its compliance with 

the advance notice requirements. 

The transaction may be consummated 

on or after September 8, 2018, the 

effective date of the exemption (30 days 

after the verified notice was filed).2

If the verified 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 effectiveness of 

the exemption. Petitions to stay must be 

filed no later than August 31, 2018 (at 

least seven days before the exemption 

becomes effective). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 

36206, must be filed with the Surface 

Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20423–0001. In 

addition, a copy must be served on Karl 

Morell, Karl Morell & Associates, Suite 

440, 440 1st Street NW, Washington, DC 

20001. 

According to DEIR, this action is 

categorically excluded from 

environmental review under 49 CFR 

1105.6(c). 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our website at www.stb.gov. 

Decided: August 17, 2018. 

By the Board. 

Scott M. Zimmerman, 

Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Aretha Laws-Byrum, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18119 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

[Docket Number USTR–2018–0029] 

Request for Comments To Compile the 

National Trade Estimate Report on 

Foreign Trade Barriers 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Office of the United 

States Trade Representative (USTR) 

publishes the National Trade Estimate 

Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE 

Report) each year. The Trade Policy 

Staff Committee (TPSC) invites 

interested persons to submit written 

comments to assist the TPSC in 

identifying significant barriers to U.S. 

exports of goods and services, U.S. 

foreign direct investment, and the 

protection and enforcement of 

intellectual property rights for inclusion 

in the NTE Report. USTR also will 

consider responses to this notice as part 

of the annual review of the operation 

and effectiveness of all U.S. trade 

agreements regarding 

telecommunications products and 

services that are in force with respect to 

the United States. 

DATES: We must receive all written 

comments no later than 11:59 p.m. on 

October 30, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers 

electronic submissions made through 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES