Notice2023-20552
60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of Collection: Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements
Primary source
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Published
September 22, 2023
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Abstract
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of the collection of Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements, as described below.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 183 (Friday, September 22, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 183 (Friday, September 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65419-65421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20552]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of
Collection: Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the
Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent
to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an
extension of
[[Page 65420]]
the collection of Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements, as
described below.
DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by
November 21, 2023.
ADDRESSES: 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="62323023221116004c050d14">[email protected]</span></a>. When submitting comments, please refer to ``Paperwork
Reduction Act Comments, Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements.''
For further information regarding this collection, contact Pedro
Ramirez at (202) 245-0333 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#25554041574a0b5744484c57405f655651470b424a53"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6f1f0a0b1d00411d0e02061d0a152f1c1b0d41080019">[email protected]</span></a>. If you require an
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call
(202) 245-0245.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
Description of Collection
Title: Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 2140-0021.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without change.
Respondents: Freight railroads subject to the Board's jurisdiction.
Number of Respondents: Approximately 620 (including six Class I
carriers).
Estimated Time per Response: One hour for each disclosure.
Frequency: On occasion. The existing demurrage liability disclosure
requirement is triggered in two circumstances: (1) when a shipper
initially arranges with a railroad for transportation of freight
pursuant to the rail carrier's tariff; or (2) when a rail carrier
changes the terms of its demurrage tariff.
Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 1,330.7
hours. Consistent with the existing, approved information collection,
Board staff estimates that: (1) six Class I carriers would each take on
18 new customers each year (108 hours); (2) each of the six Class I
carriers would update its demurrage tariffs annually (6 hours); (3) 620
non-Class I carriers (which are already subject to the existing
collection requirements, but which will not be subject to the new
requirements) would each take on one new customer a year (620 hours);
and (4) each of the non-Class I carriers would update its demurrage
tariffs every three years (206.7 hours annualized). For the requirement
that Class I carriers must directly bill the shipper for demurrage when
the shipper and warehouseman agree to the arrangement and so notify the
rail carrier, Board staff estimates that annually six Class I carriers
would each receive 65 direct-billing agreements per year at one hour
per agreement (390 hours).
The total hourly burdens are also set forth in the table below.
Table--Total Burden Hours
[Per year]
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Burden for
New customer Tariff update invoicing Total annual
Respondents burden (hours) burden (hours) agreement burden hours
(hours)
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6 Class I Carriers.............................. 108 6 390 504
620 Non-Class I Carriers........................ 620 206.7 .............. 826.7
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Totals...................................... 728 212.7 390 1,330.7
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Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: There are no other costs
identified. Any submissions may be submitted electronically.
Needs and Uses: Demurrage is subject to Board regulation under 49
U.S.C. 10702, which requires railroads to establish reasonable rates
and transportation-related rules and practices, and under 49 U.S.C.
10746, which requires railroads to compute demurrage charges, and
establish rules related to those charges, in a way that will fulfill
the national needs related to freight car use and distribution and
maintenance of an adequate car supply. Demurrage is a charge that
serves principally as an incentive to prevent undue car detention and
thereby encourage the efficient use of rail cars in the rail network,
while also providing compensation to rail carriers for the expense
incurred when rail cars are unduly detained beyond a specified period
of time (i.e., ``free time'') for loading and unloading. See Pa. R.R.
v. Kittaning Iron & Steel Mfg. Co., 253 U.S. 319, 323 (1920) (``The
purpose of demurrage charges is to promote car efficiency by penalizing
undue detention of cars.''); 49 CFR 1333.1; see also 49 CFR part 1201,
category 106.
Under 49 CFR 1333.3, a railroad's ability to charge demurrage
pursuant to its tariff is conditional on its having given, prior to
rail car placement, actual notice of the demurrage tariff to the person
receiving rail cars for loading and unloading. Once a shipper receives
a notice as to a particular tariff, additional notices are required
only when the tariff changes materially. The parties rely on the
information in the demurrage tariffs to avoid demurrage disputes, and
the Board uses the tariffs to adjudicate demurrage disputes that come
before it. Class I carriers are required to include certain minimum
information on or with demurrage invoices, take appropriate action to
ensure that demurrage charges are accurate and warranted, and directly
bill the shipper for demurrage when the shipper and warehouseman agree
to that arrangement and so notify the rail carrier. This collection and
use of this information by the Board enable the Board to meet its
statutory duties.
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.
[[Page 65421]]
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: September 19, 2023.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-20552 Filed 9-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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