Notice2024-27696
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
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
November 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Railroad Administration
Abstract
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified in the ICR.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93396-93397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27696]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2024-0112]
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information
Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is
soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities
identified in the ICR.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
January 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed ICR
should be submitted on <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> to the docket, Docket No. FRA-
2024-0112. All comments received will be posted without change to the
docket, including any personal information provided. Please refer to
the assigned OMB control number (2130-NEW) in any correspondence
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in a subsequent 30-day
notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Arlette Mussington, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#65041709001111004b081016160c0b02110a0b25010a114b020a13"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99f8ebf5fcededfcb7f4eceaeaf0f7feedf6f7d9fdf6edb7fef6ef">[email protected]</span></a> or
telephone: (571) 609-1285 or Ms. Joanne Swafford, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a6ccc9c7c8c8c388d5d1c7c0c0c9d4c2e6c2c9d288c1c9d0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f15101e11111a510c081e1919100d1b3f1b100b51181009">[email protected]</span></a> or
telephone: (757) 897-9908.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to
provide 60 days' notice to the public to allow comment on information
collection activities before seeking OMB approval of the activities.
See 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through 1320.12. Specifically,
FRA invites interested parties to comment on the following ICR
regarding: (1) whether the information collection activities are
necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, including whether
the activities will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FRA's
estimates of the burden of the information collection activities,
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used to
determine the estimates; (3) ways for FRA to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (4) ways
for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection activities on
the public, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5
CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
FRA believes that soliciting public comment may reduce the
administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the collection of
information that Federal regulations mandate. In summary, comments
received will advance three objectives: (1) reduce reporting burdens;
(2) organize information collection requirements in a ``user-friendly''
format to improve the use of such information; and (3) accurately
assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce information
requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
The summary below describes the ICR that FRA will submit for OMB
clearance as the PRA requires:
Title: Class I Railroads Annual Excepted Track Inventory.
OMB Control Number: 2130-NEW.
Abstract: FRA's Track Safety Standards (TSS; 49 CFR part 213)
prescribe minimum safety requirements for railroad track that is part
of the general railroad system of transportation. The TSS were first
established in October 1971, following the enactment of the Federal
Railroad Safety Act of 1970 in which Congress granted FRA comprehensive
authority over ``all areas of railroad safety.'' 49 U.S.C. 20103. The
TSS are an evolving set of safety requirements, subject to continuous
revision, allowing the regulations to keep pace with industry
innovations and agency research and development.
FRA added the excepted track provision (Sec. 213.4) to the TSS in
1982 in response to an industry outcry for regulatory relief on those
rail lines producing little or no income. With some limitations, Sec.
213.4 permits railroads to designate track as ``excepted'' from
compliance with minimum safety requirements for roadbed, track
geometry, and track structure. FRA believed that without some relief
for low density lines, railroads would accelerate abandonment of those
lines rather than invest their slim resources where returns would be
limited. In 1998, FRA amended Sec. 213.4, by adding new safety
requirements, after FRA and state inspectors found instances where
railroads had taken advantage of the permissive language in the 1982
provision to conduct operations in a manner not envisioned when FRA
drafted the provision. At the time of those revisions, it was estimated
there were between 8,000 and 9,000 miles of excepted track nationwide.
Over 25 years later, to better understand the current condition of
rail infrastructure in the United States, FRA is seeking to compare the
current amount of excepted track to historic levels. FRA is also
seeking to better understand the extent and manner in which the
industry is utilizing the excepted track provision. Additionally, while
FRA has not currently found systemic misuse of excepted track or
evidence of significant safety concerns, FRA has received complaints
alleging misuse of Sec. 213.4, and the information FRA proposes to
collect as part of this new ICR will be useful in ensuring that the
provision continues to be used in a safe and effective manner.
Accordingly, FRA is initiating this new ICR to gather excepted
track data from all Class I freight railroads. Specifically, the
proposed information collection will request that the railroads provide
FRA with data regarding the amount of excepted track currently in
operation (number of track miles and tonnage). The requested data will
be collected using Excel-based form FRA F 6180.289 Class I Railroads
Annual Excepted Track Inventory Reporting. To minimize the burden of
this ICR, FRA is requesting an annual inventory (for three years) only
of Class I freight railroads' excepted track. FRA believes all Class I
freight railroads already maintain lists of excepted track locations
and tonnage, so the effort to
[[Page 93397]]
report the requested information should be minimal. Once FRA has
collected this information, it will be used to help confirm that the
excepted track provision continues to be used in a safe and effective
manner, and consistent with the original intent of Sec. 213.4.
Type of Request: Approval of a new collection of information.
Affected Public: Railroads.
Form(s): FRA F 6180.289.
Respondent Universe: 6.
Frequency of Submission: Annually.
Reporting Burden: 2 hours per railroad per year.
Total Estimated Annual Responses: 6.
Total Estimated Annual Burden: 12 hours per year.
Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour Dollar Cost Equivalent:
$1,069.56.\1\
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\1\ The dollar equivalent cost is derived from the 2023 Surface
Transportation Board Full Year Wage A&B data series using employee
group 200 (Professional Administrative Staff) hourly wage rate of
$50.93. The total burden wage rate (straight time plus 75%) used is
$89.13 ($50.93 x 1.75 = $89.13).
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FRA informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or
sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection
of information that does not display a currently valid OMB control
number.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
Christopher S. Van Nostrand,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-27696 Filed 11-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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