[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 101 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27784-27785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12887]
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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
[Finance Docket No. 32549 (Sub-No. 14)]
Southwestern Public Service Company and Tuco Inc.--Trackage
Rights Over Lines of Burlington Northern Railroad Company and The
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
AGENCY: Interstate Commerce Commission.
ACTION: Decision No. 23; Notice of acceptance of responsive application
filed by Southwestern Public Service Company and Tuco Inc.
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SUMMARY: The Commission is accepting for consideration the application
filed by Southwestern Public Service Company and Tuco Inc. (SPS/TUCO)
for trackage rights over lines of The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
Railway Company (Santa Fe), and to the extent appropriate or necessary,
the lines of Burlington Northern Railroad Company (BN). This
application is responsive to the primary application filed by BN and
its corporate parent, Burlington Northern Inc. (BNI), and Santa Fe and
its corporate parent, Santa Fe Pacific Corporation (SFP), by which
primary applicants BNI, BN, SFP, and Santa Fe seek approval for BNI's
acquisition of, control of, and merger with SFP, the resulting common
control of BN and Santa Fe by the merged company, the consolidation of
BN and Santa Fe railroad operations, and the merger of BN and Santa Fe.
DATES: The effective date of this decision is May 25, 1995. Comments
regarding the SPS/TUCO responsive application must be filed with the
Commission by June 9, 1995. Rebuttal in support of the SPS/TUCO
responsive application must be filed by June 19, 1995. Briefs (not to
exceed 50 pages) must be filed by June 29, 1995.
ADDRESSES: An original and 20 copies of all documents must refer to
Finance Docket No. 32549 (Sub-No. 14) and be sent to the Office of the
Secretary, Case Control Branch, Attn: Finance Docket No. 32549 (Sub-No.
14), Interstate Commerce Commission, 1201 Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20423. Parties are encouraged also to submit all
pleadings and attachments on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1
format.
In addition, one copy of all documents in this proceeding must be
served, by first class mail, on: the Secretary of the Department of
Transportation; the Attorney General of the United States;
Administrative Law Judge Jacob Leventhal, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Office of Hearings, 825 North Capitol Street, N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20426; Betty Jo Christian, Esq., Steptoe & Johnson,
1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-1795
(representing primary applicants BNI and BN); Erika Z. Jones, Esq.,
Mayer, Brown & Platt, 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 6500,
Washington, D.C. 20006 (representing primary applicants SFP and Santa
Fe); and C. Michael Loftus, Esq., Slover & Loftus, 1224 Seventeenth
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 (representing responsive applicant
SPS/TUCO).
Furthermore, one copy of all documents in this proceeding must be
served, by first class mail, on all persons designated parties of
record [POR] on the Commission's service list, served on May 19, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Farr, (202) 927-5352. [TDD for
the hearing impaired: (202) 927-5721.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By this responsive application, SPS/TUCO
seeks overhead trackage rights on behalf of a rail carrier(s)
unaffiliated with the primary applicants over approximately 441 miles
of lines of Santa Fe (and to the extent appropriate or necessary, the
lines of BN) for the movement of coal trains between Pueblo, CO, and
SPS' coal-fired, electric generating facilities known as the Tolk
Station, located near Muleshoe or Mill, TX, via Amarillo, TX, and
Hereford, TX, with the right to serve SPS' coal-fired, electric
generating facilities known as the Harrington Station, located at
Amarillo, TX.
SPS/TUCO's responsive application substantially complies with the
applicable regulations,1 and it has therefore been accepted for
consideration by the Commission.
\1\ SPS/TUCO recognizes that, because it is not an ``applicant
carrier'' as defined by 49 CFR 1180.3(b), applicant carriers who may
receive such requested trackage rights as a result of this
responsive application will necessarily have to resolve carrier-
specific, trackage rights issues in a ``follow-up proceeding.''
(SPST-11, at 3-4.)
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The responsive application and exhibits are available for
inspection in the Public Docket Room at the offices of the Commission
in Washington, D.C. In addition, they may be obtained upon request from
SPS/TUCO's representative named above.
This responsive application is consolidated for disposition with
the Finance Docket No. 32549 primary application (and all embraced
proceedings). Service of an initial decision will be waived, and
determination of the merits of the responsive application will be made
in the first instance by the entire Commission. 49 U.S.C. 11345(f).
Interested persons may participate formally by submitting written
comments regarding the responsive [[Page 27785]] application, subject
to the filing and service requirements specified above. Such comments
(referred to as ``responses'' in the procedural schedule) should
indicate the exact proceeding designation and should be filed with the
Commission by June 9, 1995. Comments shall include the following: the
commenter's position in support of or in opposition to the proposed
transaction; any and all evidence, including verified statements, in
support of or in opposition to the proposed transaction; and specific
reasons why approval would or would not be in the public interest.
Interested persons who do not intend to participate formally in the
proceeding but who desire to comment may also file statements, also
subject to the filing and service requirements specified above. Persons
must state specifically whether they intend to participate actively in
the proceeding or whether they wish only to be advised of all decisions
issued by the Commission. Failure to state an intention to participate
as an active party will result in the person being placed in the latter
category.
Because SPS/TUCO's responsive application contains proposed
conditions to approval of the primary application in Finance Docket No.
32549, the Commission will entertain no requests for affirmative relief
to this proposal. Parties may only participate in direct support of or
direct opposition to SPS/TUCO's responsive application as filed.
This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.
Decided: May 17, 1995.
By the Commission, Chairman Morgan, Vice Chairman Owen, and
Commissioners Simmons and McDonald.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-12887 Filed 5-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P
