[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20914-20915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07553]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36602]


SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority--Acquisition Exemption With 
Interchange Commitment--Norfolk Southern Railway Company

    SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (the Authority), a noncarrier, has 
filed a verified notice of exemption to permit the Authority to acquire 
approximately 7.7 miles of rail line from Norfolk Southern Railway 
Company (NSR), excluding interest in the real property, known as the 
Selinsgrove Industrial Track in Snyder County, Pa., extending from 
milepost 0.0, at Selinsgrove Junction, Pa., to milepost 7.7, in 
Kreamer, Pa. (the Line).\1\
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    \1\ The verified notice states that the Authority will also be 
purchasing from NSR certain track referred to as the Power Plant 
Lead (PPL Track), a 1.3-mile segment of 49 U.S.C. 10906 excepted 
spur track in Snyder County. The Authority states that, because the 
Board does not have authority over the acquisition of section 10906 
track, the PPL Track need not be included as part of its notice of 
exemption but is referenced for informational purposes and will be 
converted from 49 U.S.C. 10906 spur track to 49 U.S.C. 10901 common 
carrier track as part of North Shore Railroad Company's operating 
exemption concurrently filed in Docket No. FD 36600, as discussed 
below.
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    According to the verified notice, the Authority is acquiring the 
Line from NSR pursuant to an asset purchase agreement. The Authority 
and NSR have also entered into a Freight Service Easement Agreement 
(FSEA), providing the Authority an easement and right to operate 
freight rail service on the Line and the PPL Track. According to the 
verified notice, the FSEA expressly contemplates that the Authority 
will enter into an agreement with a third-party operating railroad to 
operate the Line for the Authority. North Shore Railroad Company (North 
Shore), a

[[Page 20915]]

Class III rail carrier, will operate over the Line pursuant to an 
operating agreement with the Authority and has concurrently filed a 
verified notice of exemption to operate the Line in North Shore 
Railroad Company--Operation & Trackage Rights Exemption--Lines of SEDA-
COG Joint Rail Authority & Norfolk Southern Railway Company, Including 
Interchange Commitment, Docket No. FD 36600.\2\
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    \2\ The Authority states that it is not seeking operating 
authority over the Line. However, a grant of acquisition authority 
provides the necessary authority to conduct operations and imposes 
an obligation to provide service upon reasonable request. See, e.g., 
Norfolk & W. Ry.--Acquis. Exemption--Consol. Rail Corp., FD 32957, 
slip op. at 1, n.2 (STB served Aug. 15, 1996); City of Austin--
Acquis.--S. Pac. Transp. Co., FD 30861, slip op. at 1-2 (ICC served 
Nov. 4, 1986).
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    The Authority certifies that its projected annual revenues from 
this transaction will not exceed those that would qualify it as a Class 
III rail carrier and will not exceed $5 million. The Authority further 
states that the FSEA contains an interchange commitment that would 
limit future interchange with a third-party carrier other than NSR, and 
the Authority has provided additional information regarding the 
interchange commitment as required by 49 CFR 1150.33(h).\3\
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    \3\ A copy of the FSEA containing the interchange commitment was 
filed under seal with the verified notice. See 49 CFR 1150.33(h)(1).
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    The earliest this transaction may be consummated is April 23, 2022, 
the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice 
was filed).
    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 for stay must be filed no later than April 15, 
2022 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36602, should be filed 
with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's 
website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on the 
Authority's representative, Peter A. Pfohl, Slover & Loftus LLP, 1224 
Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.
    According to the Authority, this action is categorically excluded 
from environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from historic 
preservation reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b).

    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: April 5, 2022.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-07553 Filed 4-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P