82 FR 9107 - David L. Durbano, Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Company, Inc., and Saratoga Railroad, LLC-Corporate Family Transaction

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 21 (February 2, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9107-9108]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02220]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36091]


David L. Durbano, Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Company, Inc., 
and Saratoga Railroad, LLC--Corporate Family Transaction

    David L. Durbano (Durbano), an individual, Saratoga Railroad, LLC 
(Saratoga), a noncarrier corporation wholly owned by Durbano, and 
Wyoming and Colorado Railroad Company, Inc. (WYCO), a Class III rail 
carrier controlled by Durbano,\1\ (collectively, the Parties) have 
filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(3) for a 
corporate family transaction in which: (1) Saratoga will acquire from 
WYCO and operate an approximately 23.71-mile rail line between milepost 
0.57 at Walcott and milepost 24.28 at Saratoga in Carbon County, Wyo. 
(the EB Line); and (2) Durbano will continue in control of Saratoga 
when it becomes a Class III rail carrier, upon Saratoga's acquisition 
of the EB line, while remaining in control of WYCO and Durbano's three 
other Class III rail carriers: Southwestern Railroad, Inc. (SWRR), 
Cimarron Valley

[[Page 9108]]

Railroad, L.C. (CVR), and Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad, L.C. 
(CACR).
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    \1\ Durbano has controlled WYCO since WYCO acquired a 131.52-
mile line from Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) in 1987. See Wyo. 
& Colo. R.R.--Acquis. & Operation Exemption--Certain Lines of Union 
Pac. R.R., FD 31140 (ICC served Nov. 30, 1987) (1987 Acquisition). 
The line being acquired by Saratoga was part of the l987 Acquisition 
and is known as Encampment Branch or the EB Line. The remainder of 
the former UP line acquired in the 1987 Acquisition has either been 
abandoned or sold through a series of proceedings. See Wyo. & Colo. 
R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Jackson Cty., Colo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 1X) 
(ICC served June 25, 1990); Wyo. & Colo. R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in 
Jackson Cty., Colo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 2X) (ICC served May 19, 1995 
and Sept. 15, 1995); Wyo. & Colo. R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Albany 
Cty., Wyo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 3X) (STB served Sept. 16, 1996, as 
modified by subsequent decisions served on May 16, 2003, and 
December 31, 2003;) Wyo. & Colo. R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Albany 
Cty., Wyo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 4X) (STB served Oct. 10, 2003, as 
modified by subsequent decisions served on Nov. 10, 2003, and Feb. 
27, 2009).
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    According to the Parties, Durbano, individually and through his 
control and ownership of Western Group and Snowy Range Cattle Company, 
both noncarrier holding companies, currently owns and controls WYCO, 
SWRR, CVR and CACR.\2\ WYCO operates in Oregon doing business as the 
Oregon Eastern Railroad. WYCO owns but does not operate the EB Line in 
Wyoming.\3\ SWRR operates in New Mexico; CVR operates in Kansas, 
Oklahoma, and Colorado; and CACR operates in Arizona. The Parties state 
that, because Durbano owns and controls all four rail carriers, Durbano 
has not entered into any agreements or written instruments to undertake 
the proposed transaction.
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    \2\ Mr. Durbano also owns, and Western Group manages, Verde 
Canyon Railroad, LLC, an intrastate passenger excursion railroad not 
subject to the Board's jurisdiction.
    \3\ The EB Line was authorized for abandonment in 2006 and the 
Parties state that the tracks, ties, and other track materials were 
salvaged. See Wyo. & Colo. R.R.--Aban. Exemption--in Carbon Cty., 
Wyo., AB 307 (Sub-No. 6X) (STB served May 31, 2006). The Parties 
state that, for a number of reasons, WYCO never consummated the 
abandonment of the EB Line and never filed a notice of consummation. 
As a result, WYCO's abandonment authority expired and the corridor 
remains a line of railroad subject to the Board's jurisdiction.
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    The Parties state that the purpose of this transaction is to 
undertake a corporate reorganization for the eventual purpose of 
selling certain assets or stock of various Durbano-controlled railroad 
companies, except for Saratoga.\4\ Saratoga certifies that its annual 
revenues as a result of this transaction will not exceed those that 
would qualify it as a Class III rail carrier and will not exceed $5 
million.
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    \4\ See W. Branch & Cont'l Rail--Acquis. of Control Exemption--
Cimarron Valley R.R., Docket No. FD 36084; N.M. Cent. R.R.--Acquis. 
& Operation Exemption--Sw. R.R., Whitewater Div., Docket No. FD 
36085; and W. Branch Intermediate Holdings & Cont'l Rail--
Continuance in Control Exemption--N.M. Cent. R.R., Docket No. FD 
36087.
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    Unless stayed, the exemption will be effective on February 16, 2017 
(30 days after the verified notice was filed).
    This is a transaction within a corporate family of the type 
specifically exempted from prior review and approval under 49 CFR 
1180.2(d)(3). The Parties state that the transaction will not result in 
adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or 
a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the 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. Section 11326(c), however, does 
not provide for labor protection for transactions under 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 rail carriers.
    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 effectiveness of the exemption. 
Petitions for stay must be filed no later than February 9, 2017 (at 
least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 36091, 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 William A. Mullins, Baker & Miller PLLC, 
2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037.
    According to the Parties, this action is categorically excluded 
from environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
``WWW.STB.GOV.''

    Decided: January 30, 2017.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. Contee,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017-02220 Filed 2-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P