[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 64 (Thursday, April 3, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15966-15967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8520]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Reports, Form and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information 
Collection Activity Under OMB Review

Agency: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

Action: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request 
(ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment based on revisions to the 
current collection. Four of the several rules to amend 49 CFR Part 225, 
published on December 23, 1996 (61 FR 67477) contain amendments to the 
approved information collection activities, while one adds a new 
information collection requirement. The ICR describes the nature of the 
information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register 
Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collection of information was published on December 24, 1996 
(61 FR, page 67869).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 5, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gloria Swanson Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 632-3318) 
or Ms. Mary Ann Johnson, Office of Information Technology and 
Productivity Improvement, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 632-3226). 
(These telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Railroad Administration

Office of Safety

    Title: Accident/Incident Reporting and Recordkeeping.
    OMB No.: 2130-0500.
    Affected Public: 679 Railroads.
    Abstract: FRA uses this information to identify hazardous 
conditions associated with rail transportation and to assure compliance 
with railroad safety laws. FRA is excepting from the requirements 
regarding an Internal Control Plan delineated in Sec. 225.33(a)(3) 
through (a)(10) the following: (i) Railroads that operate or own track 
on the general railroad system of transportation (general system) that 
have 15 or fewer employees covered by the hours of service laws (49 
U.S.C. 21101-21107) and (ii) railroads that operate or own track 
exclusively off the general system. However, these excepted railroads 
must adopt and comply with the intimidation and harassment policies 
outlined in Sec. 225.33(a) (1) and (2). FRA has developed model 
statements of policy on intimidation and harassment to be posted by 
these excepted railroads. 2. FRA is also excepting from the 
recordkeeping requirements regarding accountable injuries and illnesses 
and accountable rail equipment accidents/incidents found in 
Sec. 225.25(a) through the following railroads: (i) Railroads that 
operate or own track on the general system that have 15 or fewer 
employees covered by the hours of service laws (49 U.S.C. 21101-21107) 
and (ii) railroads that operate or own track exclusively off the 
general system. 3. Further, FRA is excepting railroads that operate or 
own track exclusively off the general system from all the requirements 
of Part 225 to record or report injuries and illnesses incurred by all 
classifications of persons that result from most non-train incidents. 
(A small subcategory of non-train incidents involving in-service on-
track equipment must continue to be reported and recorded.) 4. In order 
to minimize the burden of requiring the preparer's signature on each 
and every monthly list of reportable injuries and illnesses to be 
posted for each railroad's establishments, FRA is amending 
Sec. 225.25(h)(12) so as to provide railroads with an alternative to 
signing each establishment's monthly list. Specifically, the preparer 
of the monthly list of reportable injuries and illnesses for the 
railroad may instead sign a cover sheet or memorandum attaching the 
monthly lists for each establishment for that railroad. The cover sheet 
memorandum must list all the establishments that post the monthly list 
of reportable injuries and illnesses and must be signed by the 
preparer. 5. Finally, FRA is amending Sec. 225.25(h), by adding 
Sec. 225.25(h)(15), to address any possible concerns with privacy 
rights of the employee by providing that the railroad is permitted not 
to post information on an injury or illness reported to FRA, if the 
employee who incurred the injury or illness makes a request in writing 
to the railroad's

[[Page 15967]]

reporting officer that his or her particular injury or illness not be 
posted.
    Burden Estimate: The estimated burden is 63,058 hours annually.
    Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20503, ATTN: FRA Desk Officer. Comments are invited on: Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions or the Department, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the 
Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information 
collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

    Issued in Washington, DC on March 28, 1997.
Phillip A. Leach,
Clearance Officer, United States Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 97-8520 Filed 4-2-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P