72324 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 231 / Friday, December 2, 2005 / Notices 

1Watco owns 100% of the issued and outstanding 

stock of ABS. 

Issued in Washington DC on November 28, 

2005. 

Florence L. Hamn, 

Director of Regulations, Office of Pipeline 

Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–23547 Filed 12–01–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34754] 

Alabama Southern Railroad, Inc.—

Lease and Operation Exemption—The 

Kansas City Southern Railway 

Company 

Alabama Southern Railroad, Inc. 

(ABS), a noncarrier, has filed a verified 

notice of exemption under 49 CFR 

1150.31 to lease from The Kansas City 

Southern Railway Company (KCS) and 

operate approximately 85.6 miles of rail 

line consisting of lines on the (1) 

Tuscaloosa Subdivision between 

milepost 17.0 near Columbus, MS, and 

milepost 78.9 near Tuscaloosa, AL; (2) 

Warrior Branch between milepost 0.0 at 

Tuscaloosa, AL, and milepost 9.3 near 

Fox, AL; and (3) Brookwood Branch 

between milepost 443.5 at Brookwood 

Jct., AL, and milepost 429.1 at 

Brookwood, AL. ABS is also being 

assigned KSC’s overhead trackage rights 

over a 44.4-mile line of railroad owned 

by CSX Transportation, Inc., extending 

between milepost 429.2 at Brookwood, 

AL, and milepost 384.8 at Birmingham, 

AL. 

ABS certifies that its projected annual 

revenues as a result of this transaction 

will not result in it becoming a Class II 

or Class I rail carrier. Because ABS’s 

projected annual revenues will exceed 

$5 million, ABS has certified to the 

Board on September 7, 2005, that it sent 

the required notice of the transaction on 

September 2, 2005, to the national 

offices of all labor unions representing 

employees on the line and that it posted 

a copy of the notice at the workplace of 

the employees on the affected lines on 

September 6, 2005. See 49 CFR 

1150.32(e). 

The transaction was expected to be 

consummated on or shortly after 

November 20, 2005. 

This transaction is related to STB 

Finance Docket No. 34755, Watco 

Companies, Inc.—Continuance in 

Control Exemption—Alabama Southern 

Railroad, Inc., wherein Watco 

Companies, Inc. has concurrently filed a 

verified notice of exemption to continue 

in control of ABS upon its becoming a 

rail carrier. 

If the 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 transaction. 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34754, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, one copy of each 

pleading must be served on Karl Morell, 

Of Counsel, BALL JANIK LLP, Suite 

225, 1455 F Street, NW., Washington, 

DC 20005. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: November 23, 2005. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–23551 Filed 12–1–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34755] 

Watco Companies, Inc.—Continuance 

in Control Exemption—Alabama 

Southern Railroad, Inc. 

Watco Companies, Inc. (Watco) has 

filed a verified notice of exemption to 

continue in control of Alabama 

Southern Railroad, Inc. (ABS), upon 

ABS’s becoming a Class III rail carrier.1

The transaction was scheduled to be 

consummated on or shortly after 

November 20, 2005. 

This transaction is related to a 

concurrently filed verified notice of 

exemption in STB Finance Docket No. 

34754, Alabama Southern Railroad, 

Inc.—Lease and Operation Exemption—

The Kansas City Southern Railway 

Company, wherein ABS seeks to acquire 

by lease from The Kansas City Southern 

Railway Company (KSC) and operate 

approximately 85.6 miles of rail line in 

Mississippi and Alabama. As part of 

that transaction, ABS is also being 

assigned KSC’s overhead trackage rights 

over a 44.4-mile line of railroad owned 

by CSX Transportation, Inc., extending 

between milepost 429.2 at Brookwood, 

AL, and milepost 384.8 at Birmingham, 

AL. 

Watco, a noncarrier, is a Kansas 

corporation that currently controls, 

through stock ownership and 

management, 15 Class III rail carriers 

operating in 14 States. 

Applicant states that: (1) The lines 

being leased and operated by ABS do 

not connect with the rail lines in its 

corporate family; (2) the continuance in 

control is not part of a series of 

anticipated transactions that would 

connect the leased lines with any other 

rail lines in Watco’s corporate family; 

and (3) the transaction does not involve 

a Class I carrier. Therefore, the 

transaction is exempt from the prior 

approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 

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

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 and 

11325 that involve only Class III rail 

carriers. Accordingly, the Board may not 

impose labor protective conditions here, 

because all of the carriers involved are 

Class III carriers. 

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 transaction. 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34755, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each 

pleading must be served on Karl Morell, 

Of Counsel, Ball Janik LLP, 1455 F 

Street, NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 

20005. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: November 23, 2005. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–23538 Filed 12–1–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

November 25, 2005. 

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