61362 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Notices 

1NOPB Corp. is a newly-formed public non-profit 

corporation and subsidiary of the Board of 

Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (the 

Port). 

2See New Orleans Pub. Belt R.R.—Trackage 

Rights Exemption—Ill. Cent. R.R., FD 33182 (STB 

served Oct. 30, 1996). The eastern segment of these 

trackage rights, from Southport Junction to Lampert 

Junction, connects the two sections of Public Belt’s 

main line described in Segment #1 above. The 

western segment of the trackage rights, from East 

Bridge Junction to Southport Junction, is adjacent 

to and north of Public Belt’s main line between 

those points. 

3See Ill. Cent. R.R.—Joint Relocation Project 

Exemption—in New Orleans, La., FD 33533 (STB 

served January 16, 1998); Ill. Cent. R.R.—Joint 

Relocation Project Exemption—in New Orleans, La., 

FD 32598 (ICC served Nov. 16, 1994). These 

trackage rights are parallel to Public Belt’s main line 

described in Segment #2 above and serve as a 

bypass around Cotton Warehouse Yard. 

4See New Orleans Pub. Belt R.R.—Temp. 

Trackage Rights Exemption—Ill. Cent. R.R., FD 

36067 (STB served Oct. 14, 2016 and Jan. 30, 2017). 

NOPB Corp. acknowledges that it will be subject to 

employee protective conditions imposed in New 

Orleans Public Belt Railroad—Temporary Trackage 

Rights Exemption—Illinois Central Railroad, FD 

36067 (STB served Oct. 14, 2016). 

5NOPB Corp. notes that, because it will operate 

as a switching and terminal railroad, it presumably 

would be classified as a Class III carrier in any 

event. 49 CFR 1201(1–1)(d). 

6Because NOPB Corp.’s supplement was filed on 

December 18, that is considered the filing date of 

the verified notice for purposes of calculating the 

effective date of the exemption. In its supplement, 

NOPB Corp. requests that the effective date of the 

March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs 

Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 

(112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 

note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority 

No. 234 of October 1, 1999, Delegation 

of Authority No. 236–3 of August 28, 

2000 (and, as appropriate, Delegation of 

Authority No. 257–1 of December 11, 

2015). I have ordered that Public Notice 

of these determinations be published in 

the Federal Register. 

Alyson Grunder, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Bureau 

of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2017–27921 Filed 12–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

[Docket No. FD 36149] 

New Orleans Public Belt Railroad 

Corporation—Acquisition and 

Operation Exemption—Public Belt 

Railroad Commission of the City of 

New Orleans 

On November 22, 2017, New Orleans 

Public Belt Railroad Corporation (NOPB 

Corp.),1 a noncarrier, filed a verified 

notice of exemption under 49 CFR 

1150.31 to acquire from the Public Belt 

Railroad Commission of the City of New 

Orleans (Public Belt), and operate 

approximately 26.7 miles of rail line 

and approximately 10.25 miles of 

assigned trackage rights pursuant to a 

Cooperative Endeavor Agreement 

(Agreement) to be entered into by NOPB 

Corp., Public Belt, the City of New 

Orleans (the City), and the Port. On 

December 11, 2017, the Board issued a 

decision holding this proceeding in 

abeyance and requesting supplemental 

information from NOPB Corp. NOPB 

Corp. provided that information on 

December 18, 2017. 

NOPB Corp. describes the lines and 

trackage rights it seeks to acquire as 

follows: 

1. The Public Belt main line from the 

connection with BNSF Railway 

Company (BNSF) and Union Pacific 

Railroad Company (UP) at milepost J8.3 

at West Bridge Junction in Avondale, 

La. to milepost J1.1 at Southport 

Junction in Jefferson, La. and from 

milepost J0.3 at Lampert Junction in 

Jefferson to milepost J0.0 at the 

Jefferson/Orleans Parish, La. border, a 

total distance of approximately 7.5 

miles in two sections connected by the 

overhead trackage rights described in 

Segment #6 below. The West Belt 

Junction-Southport Junction section of 

this Segment #1 includes the Huey P. 

Long Bridge. 

2. The Public Belt main line from a 

milepost equation at the Jefferson/ 

Orleans Parish border where milepost 

J0.0 = milepost 0.26 to the connection 

with CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) at 

milepost 14.2 at Almonaster in New 

Orleans, a distance of approximately 

13.94 miles. 

3. The Burma West Lead in New 

Orleans from milepost 14.2 at 

Almonaster to the end of track at 

milepost 15.3, a distance of 

approximately 1.1 miles. 

4. The Burma East Lead in New 

Orleans from the connection with CSXT 

at milepost 14.4 east of the Industrial 

Canal to the end of track at milepost 

16.3, a distance of approximately 1.9 

miles. 

5. The Bulk Terminal Lead in New 

Orleans from the connection with CSXT 

at milepost G0.0 east of the Industrial 

Canal to milepost G1.5, a distance of 

approximately 1.5 miles. 

6. Overhead trackage rights on Illinois 

Central Railroad Company (IC) from IC 

milepost 449.9 at East Bridge Junction 

in Shrewsbury, La. through Southport 

Junction (Public Belt milepost J1.1) to IC 

milepost 921.14 at Lampert Junction 

(Public Belt milepost J0.3), a distance of 

approximately 2.6 miles.2 There is a 

milepost equation a Southport Junction, 

where IC milepost 451.7=IC milepost 

921.9. 

7. Overhead trackage rights on IC from 

IC Station 120+0.00 (Public Belt 

milepost 3.4) at Nashville Avenue to IC 

Station 175+68.09 (Public Belt milepost 

4.4) at Valence Street in New Orleans, 

including the connection to the NOPB 

locomotive maintenance facility lead 

track at IC Station 163+80.0 (Public Belt 

milepost 4.2) near Upperline Street, a 

distance of approximately 1.05 miles.3

8. Overhead trackage rights on CSXT 

from the connection with Segment #2 at 

CSXT milepost 801.5 at Almonaster in 

New Orleans across the Port-owned 

Industrial Canal bridge to the 

connections with Segments #4 and #5 at 

CSXT milepost 801.2 in New Orleans, a 

distance of approximately 0.3 miles. 

9. Temporary overhead trackage rights 

on IC from IC milepost 906.4 at East 

Bridge Junction in Shrewsbury to IC 

Milepost 900.8 at Orleans Junction in 

New Orleans and from IC milepost 

444.2 at Orleans Junction to IC milepost 

443.5 at Frellsen Junction in New 

Orleans, a distance of approximately 6.3 

miles.4

NOPB Corp. will also acquire Public 

Belt’s ownership or operating interests 

in all yard, industry, wharf, and lead 

tracks associated with the above line 

segments, including the Southern 

Recycling Lead, East Bridge Yard, 

Pacific Fruit Express Yard, Cotton 

Warehouse Yard, Race Yard, French 

Market Station, Pauline Yard, Claiborne 

Yard, France Yard, North Bulk Terminal 

Yard, and South Bulk Terminal Yard. 

Upon completion of the transaction, 

NOPB Corp. will be a Class III switching 

and terminal railroad and will continue 

to provide local and intermediate 

switching service in place of Public 

Belt. 

NOPB Corp. certifies that its projected 

annual revenues as a result of this 

transaction will not exceed those that 

would qualify it as a Class III rail 

carrier.5 Because NOBP Corp.’s annual 

revenues will exceed $5 million, on 

October 13, 2017, NOBP Corp. certified 

to the Board that it had complied with 

the requirements of 49 CFR 1150.32(e) 

by posting notice on October 13, 2017, 

at workplaces of Public Belt employees 

and by serving notice on the national 

offices of the labor unions representing 

Public Belt employees on the same date. 

NOPB Corp. further certifies that the 

Agreement does not include any 

provision limiting NOPB Corp.’s future 

interchange of traffic with any 

connecting carrier. 

The transaction may be consummated 

on or after January 17, 2018, the 

effective date of the exemption (30 days 

after the verified notice of exemption 

was filed).6 If the verified notice 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Notices 61363 

exemption be advanced to January 11, 2018. This 

request will be addressed in a separate decision. 

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 

January 4, 2018. 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 

36149, must be filed with the Surface 

Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20423–0001. In 

addition, a copy of each pleading must 

be served on Thomas J. Litwiler, 

Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker 

Dr., Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606–2832. 

According to NOPB Corp., this action 

is excluded from environmental review 

under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from 

historic preservation reporting 

requirements under 49 CFR 

1105.8(b)(1). 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our website at 

WWW.STB.GOV. 

Decided: December 21, 2017. 

By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2017–27931 Filed 12–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

[Docket No. USTR–2017–0024] 

Request for Comments and Notice of 

a Public Hearing Regarding the 2018 

Special 301 Review 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Request for comments and 

notice of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: Each year, the Office of the 

United States Trade Representative 

conducts a Special 301 review to 

identify countries that deny adequate 

and effective protection of intellectual 

property rights (IPR) or deny fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. Based on this review, the 

United States Trade Representative 

(Trade Representative) determines 

which, if any, of these countries to 

identify as Priority Foreign Countries. 

USTR requests written comments that 

identify acts, policies, or practices that 

may form the basis of a country’s 

identification as a Priority Foreign 

Country or placement on the Priority 

Watch List or Watch List. USTR also 

requests notices of intent to appear at 

the public hearing. 

DATES: February 8, 2018 at midnight 

EST: Deadline for submission of written 

comments, hearing statements, and 

notices of intent to appear at the hearing 

from the public. 

February 22, 2018 at midnight EST: 

Deadline for submission of written 

comments, hearing statements, and 

notices of intent to appear at the hearing 

from foreign governments. 

February 27, 2018: The Special 301 

Subcommittee will hold a public 

hearing at the Office of the United States 

Trade Representative, 1724 F Street NW, 

Rooms 1 & 2, Washington, DC. If 

necessary, the hearing may continue on 

the next business day. Please consult 

the USTR website for confirmation of 

the date and location and the schedule 

of witnesses. 

March 2, 2018 at midnight EST: 

Deadline for submission of post-hearing 

written comments from persons who 

testified at the public hearing. 

On or about April 30, 2018: USTR 

will publish the 2018 Special 301 

Report within 30 days of the publication 

of the National Trade Estimate (NTE) 

Report. 

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly encourages 

electronic submissions made through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

submission instructions in section IV 

below. The docket number is USTR– 

2017–0024. For alternatives to on-line 

submissions, please contact USTR at 

Special301@ustr.eop.gov before 

transmitting a comment and in advance 

of the relevant deadline. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sung Chang, Director for Innovation and 

Intellectual Property, at 202–395–7548 

or special301@ustr.eop.gov. You can 

find information about the Special 301 

Review at www.ustr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 

(Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242), commonly 

known as the ‘‘Special 301’’ provisions, 

requires the Trade Representative to 

identify countries that deny adequate 

and effective IPR protections or fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. The Trade Act requires the 

Trade Representative to determine 

which, if any, of these countries to 

identify as Priority Foreign Countries. 

Acts, policies or practices that are the 

basis of a country’s identification as a 

Priority Foreign Country can be subject 

to the procedures set out in sections 

301–305 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 

2411–2415), 

In addition, USTR has created a 

‘‘Priority Watch List’’ and ‘‘Watch List’’ 

to assist the Administration in pursuing 

the goals of the Special 301 provisions 

Placement of a trading partner on the 

Priority Watch List or Watch List 

indicates that particular problems exist 

in that country with respect to IPR 

protection, enforcement or market 

access for persons that rely on 

intellectual property protection. Trading 

partners placed on the Priority Watch 

List are the focus of increased bilateral 

attention concerning the problem areas. 

USTR chairs the Special 301 

Subcommittee (Subcommittee) of the 

Trade Policy Staff Committee. The 

Subcommittee reviews information from 

many sources, and consults with and 

makes recommendations to the Trade 

Representative on issues arising under 

Special 301. Written submissions from 

the public are a key source of 

information for the Special 301 review 

process. In 2018, USTR will conduct a 

public hearing as part of the review 

process and will allow hearing 

participants to provide additional 

information relevant to the review. At 

the conclusion of the process, USTR 

will publish the results of the review in 

a Special 301 Report. 

USTR requests that interested persons 

identify through the process outlined in 

this notice those countries whose acts, 

policies, or practices deny adequate and 

effective protection for intellectual 

property rights or deny fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. 

Section 182 also requires the Trade 

Representative to identify any act, 

policy or practice of Canada that affects 

cultural industries, was adopted or 

expanded after December 17, 1992, and 

is actionable under Article 2106 of the 

North American Free Trade Agreement 

(NAFTA). USTR invites the public to 

submit views relevant to this aspect of 

the review. 

Section 182 requires the Trade 

Representative to identify all such acts, 

policies, or practices within 30 days of 

the publication of the NTE Report. In 

accordance with this statutory 

requirement, USTR will publish the 

annual Special 301 Report on or about 

April 30, 2018. 

II. Public Comments 

To facilitate the review, written 

comments should be as detailed as 

possible and provide all necessary 

information to identify and assess the 


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