Notice2023-02569
30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of Collection: Statutory Authority To Preserve Rail Service
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 7, 2023
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Abstract
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (Board) gives notice of its intent to request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval without change of the existing collection, Preservation of Rail Service, OMB Control No. 2140-0022, as described below.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8025-8027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02569]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of
Collection: Statutory Authority To Preserve Rail Service
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the
Surface Transportation Board (Board) gives
[[Page 8026]]
notice of its intent to request from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) approval without change of the existing collection,
Preservation of Rail Service, OMB Control No. 2140-0022, as described
below.
DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by
March 9, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork
Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board, Statutory
Authority to Preserve Rail Service.'' Written comments for the proposed
information collection should be submitted via <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. This information collection can be accessed by selecting
``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the
search function. As an alternative, written comments may be directed to
the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Michael J. McManus, Surface
Transportation Board Desk Officer: via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#57383e2536082422353a3e24243e383917383a357932382779303821"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ea8583988bb5999f8887839999838584aa858788c48f859ac48d859c">[email protected]</span></a>; by fax at (202) 395-1743; or by mail to
Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.
Please also direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer,
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-
0001, or to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f0a0a2b1b0838492de979f86"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8e8eaf9f8cbccda96dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a>. When submitting comments, please refer to
``Statutory Authority to Preserve Rail Service.'' For further
information regarding this collection, contact Mike Higgins at (866)
254-1792 (toll-free) or 202-245-0238, or by emailing <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3b49584b5a7b484f59155c544d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="56243526371625223478313920">[email protected]</span></a>.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board previously published a notice
about this collection in the Federal Register (87 FR 69074 (Nov. 17,
2022)). That notice allowed for a 60-day public review and comment
period. No comments were received.
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
summarized in the Board's request for OMB approval.
Subject: In this notice, the Board is requesting comments on the
extension of the following information collection:
Description of Collection
Title: Preservation of Rail Service.
OMB Control Number: 2140-0022.
STB Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without change.
Respondents: Affected shippers, communities, or other interested
persons seeking to preserve rail service over rail lines that are
proposed or identified for abandonment, and railroads that are required
to provide information to the offeror or applicant: Approximately 15.
Frequency: On occasion, as follows:
Table--Number of Yearly Responses
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Estimated annual
average number
Type of filing of filings (2019-
2022)
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Offer of Financial Assistance (and related filings).. 1
Request for Public Use Condition..................... 1
Feeder Line Application.............................. 1
Trail Use Request (with extensions).................. 13
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Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 185 hours
(total of estimated hours per response x number of responses for each
type of filing).
Table--Estimated Total Burden Hours
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Estimated annual
average number of Number of hours Total estimated
Type of filing filings (2019- per response burden hours
2021)
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Offer of Financial Assistance (and related filings).... 1 46 46
Request for Public Use Condition....................... 1 4 4
Feeder Line Application................................ 1 70 70
Trail Use Request (with extensions).................... 13 5 65
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Total burden hours................................. ................. ................. 185
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Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: While the collections are submitted
electronically to the Board, respondents are sometimes required to send
consultation letters to various other governmental agencies. Copies of
these letters are part of an environmental and historic report that
must be filed with this collection (unless waived by the Board).
Because some of these other agencies may require hard copy letters,
there may be some limited mailing costs, which staff estimates in total
to be approximately $1,800.00.
Needs and Uses: The Surface Transportation Board is, by statute,
responsible for the economic regulation of common carrier freight
railroads and certain other carriers operating in the United States.
Under the laws the Board administers, persons seeking to preserve
[[Page 8027]]
rail service may file pleadings before the Board to acquire or
subsidize a rail line for continued service, or to impose a trail use
or public use condition.
When a line is proposed for abandonment, affected shippers,
communities, or other interested persons may seek to preserve rail
service by filing with the Board: an offer of financial assistance
(OFA) to subsidize or purchase a rail line for which a railroad is
seeking abandonment (49 U.S.C. 10904), including a request for the
Board to set terms and conditions of the financial assistance; a
request for a public use condition (Sec. 10905); or a trail use
request (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)). Similarly, when a line is placed on a
system diagram map identifying it as an anticipated or potential
candidate for abandonment, affected shippers, communities, or other
interested persons may seek to preserve rail service by filing with the
Board a feeder line application to purchase the identified rail line
(Sec. 10907). Additionally, the railroad owning the rail line subject
to abandonment must, in some circumstances, provide information to the
applicant or offeror.
As to trail use, the STB will issue a CITU or NITU to a prospective
trail sponsor who seeks an interim trail use agreement with the rail
carrier of the rail line that is being abandoned. The CITU/NITU permits
parties to negotiate for an interim trail use agreement. The parties
may also agree to an extension of the negotiating period. If parties
reach an agreement, then they must jointly notify the Board of that
fact and of any modification or vacancy of the agreement. There is a
one-year period for any initial interim trail use negotiating period
(with potential extensions).
The Board makes this submission because, under the PRA, a federal
agency that conducts or sponsors 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),
includes agency requirements that persons submit reports, keep records,
or provide information to the agency, third parties, or the public.
Under 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), federal agencies are required to
provide, prior to an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for
approval, 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: February 2, 2023.
Raina White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-02569 Filed 2-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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