60-day Fed. Reg. notice

Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 2015 / Notices
maintenance, mechanical, and
personnel policies and practices of its
rail carrier subsidiaries, and thereby
improve the overall efficiency of rail
service provided by the railroads in the
Watco 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. Because the transaction
involves the control of one Class II and
one or more Class III rail carriers, the
transaction is subject to the labor
protection requirements of 49 U.S.C.
11326(b) and Wisconsin Central Ltd.—
Acquisition Exemption—Lines of Union
Pacific Railroad, 2 S.T.B. 218 (1997).
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 by June 12, 2015 (at least seven
days before the exemption becomes
effective).
An original and 10 copies of all
pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD
35931, 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 Karl Morell, Karl Morell &
Associates, 655 Fifteenth Street NW.,
Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
Board decisions and notices are
available on our Web site at
WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.
Decided: June 1, 2015.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.

Collection Number 1

[FR Doc. 2015–13769 Filed 6–4–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposals, Submissions,
and Approvals
Surface Transportation Board.
60-day notice and request for
comments.

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AGENCY:
ACTION:

As part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork burdens, and as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3519 (PRA),
the Surface Transportation Board
(Board) gives notice of its intent to
request from the Office of Management

SUMMARY:

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and Budget (OMB) approval without
change of the six existing collections
described below.
Comments are requested concerning
each collection as to (1) whether the
particular collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Board, including
whether the collection has practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the Board’s
burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on the respondents,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, when
appropriate. Submitted comments will
be included and/or summarized in the
Board’s request for OMB approval.
DATES: Written comments are due on
August 4, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to
Marilyn Levitt, Surface Transportation
Board, Suite 1260, 395 E Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20423–0001, or to
[email protected]. Comments should
be identified as ‘‘Paperwork Reduction
Act Comments,’’ and should refer to the
title and control number of the specific
collection(s) commented upon.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information or copies of the
information collection(s) contact Pedro
Ramirez at (202) 245–0333 or ramirezp@
stb.dot.gov [Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) for the hearing impaired:
(800) 877–8339].
In this notice the Board is requesting
comments on the following information
collections:
Subjects:
Title: Quarterly Report of Revenues,
Expenses, and Income—Railroads (Form
RE&I).
OMB Control Number: 2140–0013.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Respondents: Class I railroads.
Number of Respondents: Seven.
Estimated Time per Response: 6
hours.
Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
Total Annual Hour Burden: 168 hours
annually.
Total Annual ‘‘Non Hour Burden’’
Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens
associated with this collection have
been identified.
Needs and Uses: This collection is a
report of railroad operating revenues,
operating expenses and income items; it
is a profit and loss statement, disclosing
net railway operating income on a

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32201

quarterly and year-to-date basis for the
current and prior years. See 49 CFR
1243.1. The Board uses the information
in this report to ensure competitive,
efficient, and safe transportation
through general oversight programs that
monitor and forecast the financial and
operating condition of railroads, and
through regulation of railroad rate and
service issues and rail restructuring
proposals, including railroad mergers,
consolidations, acquisitions of control,
and abandonments. Information from
these reports is used by the Board, other
Federal agencies, and industry groups to
monitor and assess industry growth and
operations, detect changes in carrier
financial stability, and identify trends
that may affect the national
transportation system. Some of the
information from these reports is
compiled by the Board in our quarterly
Selected Earnings Data Report, which is
published on the Board’s Web site,
http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/industry/
econ_reports.html. The information
contained in these reports is not
available from any other source.
Collection Number 2
Title: Quarterly Condensed Balance
Sheet—Railroads (Form CBS).
OMB Control Number: 2140–0014.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Respondents: Class I railroads.
Number of Respondents: Seven.
Estimated Time per Response: Six
hours.
Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
Total Annual Hour Burden: 168 hours
annually.
Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’
Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens
associated with this collection have
been identified.
Needs and Uses: This collection
shows the balance, quarterly and
cumulative, for the current and prior
year of the carrier’s assets and liabilities,
gross capital expenditures, and revenue
tons carried. See 49 CFR 1243.2. The
Board uses the information in this
report to ensure competitive, efficient,
and safe transportation through general
oversight programs that monitor and
forecast the financial and operating
condition of railroads, and through
specific regulation of railroad rate and
service issues and rail restructuring
proposals, including railroad mergers,
consolidations, acquisitions of control,
and abandonments. Information from
these reports is used by the Board, other
Federal agencies, and industry groups to
assess industry growth and operations,
detect changes in carrier financial
stability, and identify trends that may

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 2015 / Notices

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affect the national transportation
system. Revenue ton-miles, which are
reported in these reports, are compiled
and published by the Board in its
quarterly Selected Earnings Data Report,
which is published on the Board’s Web
site, http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/
industry/econ_reports.html. The
information contained in these reports
is not available from any other source.
Collection Number 3
OMB Control Number: 2140–0004.
Title: Report of Railroad Employees,
Service and Compensation (Wage Forms
A and B).
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Respondents: Class I railroads and the
Association of American Railroads.
Number of Respondents: Eight.
Estimated Time per Response: No
more than 30 hours per quarterly report
and 40 hours per annual summation.
Frequency of Response: Quarterly,
with an annual summation.
Total Annual Hour Burden: No more
than 1,280 hours annually.
Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’
Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens
associated with this collection have
been identified.
Needs and Uses: This collection
shows the number of employees, service
hours, and compensation, by employee
group (e.g., executive, professional,
maintenance-of-way and equipment,
and transportation), of the reporting
railroads. See 49 CFR 1245. The
information is used by the Board to
forecast labor costs and measure the
efficiency of the reporting railroads. The
information is also used by the Board to
evaluate proposed regulated
transactions that may impact rail
employees, including mergers and
consolidations, acquisitions of control,
purchases, and abandonments. Other
Federal agencies and industry groups,
including the Railroad Retirement
Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and
Association of American Railroads, use
the information contained in the reports
to monitor railroad operations. Certain
information from these reports is
compiled and published on the Board’s
Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/
industry/econ_reports.html. The
information contained in these reports
is not available from any other source.
Collection Number 4
Title: Monthly Report of Number of
Employees of Class I Railroads (Wage
Form C).
OMB Control Number: 2140–0007.
Form Number: STB Form 350.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.

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Respondents: Class I railroads and the
Association of American Railroads.
Number of Respondents: Eight.
Estimated Time per Response: 1.25
hours.
Frequency of Response: Monthly.
Total Annual Hour Burden: 120 hours
annually.
Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’
Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens
associated with this collection have
been identified.
Needs and Uses: This collection
shows, for each reporting carrier, the
average number of employees at midmonth in the six job-classification
groups that encompass all railroad
employees. See 49 CFR 1246. The
information is used by the Board to
forecast labor costs and measure the
efficiency of the reporting railroads. The
information is also used by the Board to
evaluate the impact on rail employees of
proposed regulated transactions,
including mergers and consolidations,
acquisitions of control, purchases, and
abandonments. Other Federal agencies
and industry groups, including the
Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, and Association of
American Railroads, use the information
contained in these reports to monitor
railroad operations. Certain information
from these reports is compiled and
published on the Board’s Web site,
www.stb.dot.gov/stb/industry/urcs.html.
The information contained in these
reports is not available from any other
source.
Collection Number 5
Title: Annual Report of Cars Loaded
and Cars Terminated .
OMB Control Number: 2140–0011.
Form Number: Form STB–54.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Number of Respondents: Seven.
Estimated Time per Response: Four
hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual .
Total Annual Hour Burden: 28 hours
annually.
Total Annual ‘‘Non Hour Burden’’
Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens
associated with this collection have
been identified.
Needs and Uses: This collection
reports the number of cars loaded and
cars terminated on the reporting
carrier’s line. See 49 CFR 1247.
Information in this report is entered into
the Board’s Uniform Rail Costing
System (URCS), which is a cost
measurement methodology. URCS,
which was developed by the Board
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11161, is used as
a tool in rail rate proceedings, in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 10707(d), to

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calculate the variable costs associated
with providing a particular service. The
Board also uses URCS to carry out more
effectively other of its regulatory
responsibilities, including: acting on
railroad requests for authority to engage
in Board-regulated financial
transactions such as mergers,
acquisitions of control, and
consolidations, see 49 U.S.C. 11323–
11324; analyzing the information that
the Board obtains through the annual
railroad industry waybill sample, see 49
CFR 1244; measuring off-branch costs in
railroad abandonment proceedings, in
accordance with 49 CFR 1152.32(n);
developing the ‘‘rail cost adjustment
factors,’’ in accordance with 49 U.S.C.
10708; and conducting investigations
and rulemakings. This collection is
compiled and published on the Board’s
Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/
industry/econ_reports.html. There is no
other source for the information
contained in this report.
Collection Number 6
OMB Control Number: 2140–0001.
Title: Quarterly Report of Freight
Commodity Statistics (Form QCS).
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Respondents: Class I railroads.
Number of Respondents: Seven.
Estimated Time per Response: 217
hours.
Frequency of Response: Quarterly,
with an annual summation.
Total Annual Hour Burden: 7,595
hours annually.
Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’
Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens
associated with this collection have
been identified.
Needs and Uses: This collection,
which is based on information
contained in carload waybills used by
railroads in the ordinary course of
business, reports car loadings and total
revenues by commodity code for each
commodity that moved on the railroad
during the reporting period. See 49 CFR
1248. Information in this report is
entered into the Board’s URCS, the uses
of which are explained under Collection
Number 5. This collection is compiled
and published on the Board’s Web site,
http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/industry/
econ_reports.html. There is no other
source for the information contained in
this report.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
PRA, a Federal agency conducting or
sponsoring a collection of information
must display a currently valid OMB
control number. A collection of
information, which is defined in 44
U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c),

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 2015 / Notices
includes agency requirements that
persons submit reports, keep records, or
provide information to the agency, third
parties, or the public. Under
§ 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, Federal
agencies are required, prior to
submitting a collection to OMB for
approval, to provide a 60-day notice and
comment period through publication in
the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension of an
existing collection of information.
Dated: June 1, 2015.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015–13705 Filed 6–4–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. FD 35933]

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Watco Holdings, Inc.—Continuance in
Control Exemption—Lubbock and
Western Railway, L.L.C.
Watco Holdings, Inc. (Watco), a
noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of
exemption pursuant to 49 CFR
1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of
Lubbock and Western Railway, L.L.C.
(LWR), upon LWR’s becoming a Class III
rail carrier. Watco owns, indirectly, 100
percent of the issued and outstanding
stock of LWR, a limited liability
company.
This transaction is related to a
concurrently filed verified notice of
exemption in Lubbock & Western
Railway—Acquisition & Operation
Exemption—West Texas & Lubbock
Railway, Docket No. FD 35932, wherein
LWR seeks Board approval (1) to acquire
and operate approximately 9.5 miles of
rail line and to lease approximately
134.75 miles of rail line from West
Texas and Lubbock Railway Company,
Inc., and West Texas and Lubbock
Railroad Company, Inc. (WTLR),
between specified points in Texas; and
(2) to acquire by assignment
approximately 5 miles of trackage rights
that WTLR currently has over BNSF
Railway Company’s line between
Canyon Jct., and Broadview, Tex.
The transaction may be consummated
on or after June 20, 2015, the effective
date of the exemption (30 days after the
notice of exemption was filed).
Watco is a Kansas corporation that
currently controls, indirectly, 30 Class
III rail carriers and one Class II rail
carrier, collectively operating in 22
states. For a complete list of these rail
carriers, and the states in which they

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operate, see Watco’s notice of
exemption filed on May 21, 2015. The
notice is available on the Board’s Web
site at ‘‘www.stb.dot.gov.’’
Watco represents that: (1) The rail
lines to be operated by LWR do not
connect with any of the rail lines
operated by the carriers in the Watco
corporate family; (2) the continuance in
control is not a part of a series of
anticipated transactions that would
result in such a connection; 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).
Watco states that the purpose of the
transaction is to reduce overhead
expenses, coordinate billing,
maintenance, mechanical, and
personnel policies and practices of its
rail carrier subsidiaries, and thereby
improve the overall efficiency of rail
service provided by the railroads in the
Watco 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. Because the transaction
involves the control of one Class II and
one or more Class III rail carriers, the
transaction is subject to the labor
protection requirements of 49 U.S.C.
11326(b) and Wisconsin Central Ltd.—
Acquisition Exemption—Lines of Union
Pacific Railroad, 2 S.T.B. 218 (1997).
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 by June 12, 2015 (at least seven
days before the exemption becomes
effective).
An original and 10 copies of all
pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD
35933, 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 Karl Morell, 655 Fifteenth
Street NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC
20005.
Board decisions and notices are
available on our Web site at
www.stb.dot.gov.
Decided: June 2, 2015.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015–13794 Filed 6–4–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. FD 35930]

Texas New Mexico Railway, L.L.C.—
Acquisition and Operation
Exemption—Austin & Northwestern
Railroad Company, Inc.
Texas New Mexico Railway, L.L.C.
(TNMR),1 a noncarrier, has filed a
verified notice of exemption under 49
CFR 1150.31 to acquire from Austin &
Northwestern Railway Company, Inc.
(ANR), and to operate, approximately
104.191 miles of rail line between
milepost 0.079 at Monahans, Tex., and
milepost 104.27 at Lovington, NM.
This transaction is related to a
concurrently filed verified notice of
exemption in Watco Holdings, Inc.—
Continuance in Control Exemption—
Texas New Mexico Railway, Docket No.
FD 35931, wherein Watco Holdings,
Inc., seeks Board approval under 49 CFR
1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of
TNMR, upon TNMR’s becoming a Class
III rail carrier.
TNMR states that the agreement
between TNMR and ANR does not
contain any provision that prohibits
TNMR from interchanging traffic with a
third party or limits TNMR’s ability to
interchange with a third party.
The transaction is expected to be
consummated on or after the effective
date of the exemption.
TNMR has certified that this
transaction will not result in TNMR’s
becoming a Class II or Class I rail
carrier. Because TNMR’s projected
annual revenues will exceed $5 million,
TNMR certified to the Board on May 19,
2015, that it had complied with the
requirements of 49 CFR 1150.32(e) on
May 18, 2015, by providing notice to
employees on the affected line.2 Under
49 CFR 1150.32(e), this exemption
cannot become effective until 60 days
after the requirements of that section
have been satisfied (here, July 18, 2015).
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 July 10, 2015 (at
least seven days before the exemption
becomes effective).
An original and 10 copies of all
pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD
1 TNMR is a new, wholly owned, subsidiary of
Watco Holdings, Inc.
2 In its May 19 letter to the Board, TNMR stated
that there are no union employees at ANR.

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