Surface Trans. Bd Railroad LinO~ffir~ ~f t~ f~l~airman
ransportatian Boari
June 6, 2002
Mr. Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
The City of Dubuque
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001-4864
Dear Mr. Van Milligen:
This letter responds to your correspondence regarding the proposal by Iowa, Chicago &
Eastern Railroad Corporation (ICE), a noncarrier subsidiary of Cedar American Rail Holdings,
Inc. (Holdings), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad
Corporation (DM&E), to acquire and operate all of the rail lines ofI & M Rail Link, LLC
(IMRL).
You are concerned that the applicant may request that the transaction be considered
exempt as defined in 49 CFR 1180.2, and you wish to go on record in support of the position that
the proposed transaction, if or when an application is filed, should be given due consideration as
a minor transaction, if not a significant transaction, as defined in 49 CFR 1180.2. In your letter,
you mention three areas of concern about the proposed transaction-financial viability,
environmental/community impacts, and effects on shippers-which you hope to have addressed in
a full Board process.
By letter received at the Board on February 26, 2002, ICE certified that, in compliance
with our exemption roles, it posted a notice at the workplace of the employees of IMRL
indicating that ICE intends to acquire and operate IMRL. In this type of transaction the applicant
must, at least 60 days before the exemption becomes effective, post a notice of the proposed
transaction at the workplace of the employees on the affected lines and serve a copy of the notice
on the national offices of the employees' unions. The notice must also specify the types and
numbers of jobs expected to be available, the terms of employment and principles of employee
selection, and the lines to be transferred.
On May 24, 2002, ICE filed a notice of intent under 49 CFR 1150.35(a) indicating that,
on or after June 7, 2002, it intends to file a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire
and operate the rail lines and assets of IMRL, a Class II carrier. ICE's notice was filed pursuant
to the Board's exemption procedures governing noncarrier acquisitions under 49 U.S.C. 10901
that involve the creation of Class I or Class II carders. This proceeding has been docketed at the
Mr. Michael C. Van Milligen
Board as STB Finance Docket No. 34177. In its notice, ICE states that DM&E and Holdings
expect to file an application soon, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11323(a)(3) and 49 CFR 1180.2(c), to
continue in control of ICE once ICE acquires the IIVIRL lines and becomes a rail carrier. ICE
indicates that it anticipates that it will consummate its acquisition of lMRL's lines and
commence operations on or after June 28, 2002.
Under our exemption rules stated above, the exemption would be effective 21 days after
the notice of exemption is filed at the Board, unless other action is taken. The agency publishes
notice of the filing in the Federal Register within 30 days of the filing at the Board so that all
members of the public might have notice of the filing. If the notice contains false or misleading
information, the exemption is void ab initio. Anyone who objects to the transaction may file a
petition to reject the notice or to revoke the exemption. In the event that interested persons
believe that the effectiveness of the exemption would cause immediate and irreparable harm,
those persons may petition the Board to stay the effectiveness of the exemption.
If you would like information on how to participate in this case, you may contact our
Office of Congressional and Public Services by writing to that office at this address or by calling
(202) 565-1592. I will have your letter and my response placed in the public docket for this
proceeding. I appreciate your interest in this matter.
Sincerely,
Linda J. Morgan
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