[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 103 (Friday, May 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 32223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11464]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36594]


Texas Coastal Bend Railroad, L.L.C.--Change in Operator 
Exemption--Corpus Christi Terminal Railroad, Inc.

    Texas Coastal Bend Railroad, L.L.C. (TCBR), a noncarrier, has filed 
a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.31 to assume 
operation of approximately 12.0 miles of rail line owned by the Port of 
Corpus Christi Authority of Nueces County, Tex. (the Port), located on 
the north and south sides of the Inner Harbor of the Corpus Christi 
Ship Channel, which runs parallel with the south shoreline of Nueces 
Bay (the Line). Incidental to the proposed operation of the Port-owned 
Line, TCBR will acquire overhead trackage rights over a connecting 
Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) line extending between 
approximately UP milepost 140.5 near the west leg of the Fulton Wye 
Connection and approximately UP milepost 149.0, all in Nueces County, 
Tex. Corpus Christi Terminal Railroad, Inc. (CCTR) currently operates 
the Line under a lease with the Port and has done so since 1997. See 
Corpus Christi Terminal R.R.--Lease & Operation Exemption--Port of 
Corpus Christi Auth. of Nueces Cnty., Tex., FD 33436 (STB served Aug. 
14, 1997).
    According to the verified notice, TCBR has entered into an 
agreement with the Port under which TCBR will replace CCTR as the 
common carrier on the Line. TCBR states that CCTR does not object to 
the proposed change in common carrier operator on the Line. Based on 
projected annual revenues for the Line, TCBR expects to become a Class 
III rail carrier after consummation of the proposed transaction.
    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
in Watco Holdings--Continuance in Control Exemption--Texas Coastal Bend 
Railroad, Docket No. FD 36595, in which Watco Holdings, Inc., seeks to 
continue in control of TCBR upon TCBR's becoming a Class III rail 
carrier.
    As required under 49 CFR 1150.33(h)(1), TCBR certifies that the 
agreements governing this transaction do not include any provision or 
agreement that may limit future interchange with a third-party 
connecting carrier.
    TCBR certifies that its projected annual revenues as a result of 
the transaction will not result in the creation of a Class I or Class 
II rail carrier but also states that it expects its annual revenues to 
exceed $5 million following the transaction. Pursuant to 49 CFR 
1150.32(e), if a carrier's projected annual revenues will exceed $5 
million, it must, at least 60 days before the exemption becomes 
effective, post a notice of its intent to undertake the proposed 
transaction at the workplace of the employees on the affected lines, 
serve a copy of the notice on the national offices of the labor unions 
with employees on the affected lines, and certify to the Board that it 
has done so. TCBR states that it complied with the advance notice 
posting requirements of 49 CFR 1150.32(e) on March 21, 2022, and that 
TCBR has been advised that no labor union represents CCTR employees and 
that the Port has no employees that conduct rail operations on the 
Line.
    Under 49 CFR 1150.32(b), a change in operator exemption requires 
that notice be given to shippers. TCBR certifies that it has provided 
notice of the proposed change in operator to the shippers on the Line.
    The transaction may be consummated on or after June 12, 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 June 3, 2022 
(at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36594, must be filed with 
the Surface Transportation Board either via e-filing on the Board's 
website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 
20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on 
TCBR's representative, Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 
North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606-3208.
    According to TCBR, this action is categorically excluded from 
historic preservation reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b) and 
from environmental reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: May 24, 2022.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-11464 Filed 5-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P