[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 128 (Thursday, July 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36750-36751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13016]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its 
implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 
hereby announces that it is seeking approval of the following 
information collection activities. Before submitting these information 
collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of 
the activities identified below. It should be noted that this notice 
supersedes and corrects the Federal Register Notice that was published 
on June 11, 2007 (see 72 FR 32159), which inadvertently listed an 
erroneous title for the proposed study.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than September 4, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on any or all of the following 
proposed activities by mail to either: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of 
Safety, Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 
20590, or Ms. Gina Christodoulou, Office of Support Systems, RAD-43, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590. Commenters requesting FRA to acknowledge receipt 
of their respective comments must include a self-addressed stamped 
postcard stating, ``Comments on OMB control number 2130-New.'' 
Alternatively, comments may be transmitted via facsimile to (202) 493-
6230 or (202) 493-6170, or via e-mail to Mr. Brogan at 
[email protected], or to Ms. Christodoulou at 
[email protected]. Please refer to the assigned OMB control 
number or collection title in any correspondence submitted. FRA will 
summarize comments received in response to this notice in a subsequent 
notice and include them in its information collection submission to OMB 
for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 
Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 
493-6292) or Ms. Gina Christodoulou, Office of Support Systems, RAD-43, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6139). (These telephone 
numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Pub. L. No. 104-13, 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 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 for 
comment on information collection activities before seeking approval by 
OMB. 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 1320.10(e)(1), 
1320.12(a). Specifically, FRA invites interested respondents to comment 
on the following summary of proposed information collection activities 
regarding (i) Whether the information collection activities are 
necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, including whether 
the activities will have practical utility; (ii) 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; (iii) ways for FRA to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (iv) ways 
for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection activities on 
the public by automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology (e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). FRA believes that 
soliciting public comment will promote

[[Page 36751]]

its efforts to reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens 
associated with the collection of information mandated by Federal 
regulations. In summary, FRA reasons that comments received will 
advance three objectives: (i) Reduce reporting burdens; (ii) ensure 
that it organizes information collection requirements in a ``user 
friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and (iii) 
accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce 
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    Below is a brief summary of proposed new information collection 
activities that FRA will submit for clearance by OMB as required under 
the PRA:
    Title: Confidential Close Call Reporting System Evaluation-Related 
Interview Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-New.
    Abstract: In the U.S. railroad industry, injury rates have been 
declining over the last 25 years. Indeed, the industry incident rate 
fell from a high of 12.1 incidents per 100 workers per year in 1978 to 
3.66 in 1996. As the number of incidents has decreased, the mix of 
causes has also changed toward a higher proportion of incidents that 
can be attributed to human and organizational factors. This combination 
of trends--decrease in overall rates but increasing proportion of human 
factors-related incidents--has left safety managers with a need to 
shift tactics in reducing injuries to even lower rates than they are 
now.
    In recognition of the need for new approaches to improving safety, 
FRA has instituted the Confidential Close Call Reporting System 
(C\3\RS). The operating assumption behind C\3\RS is that by assuring 
confidentiality, employees will report events which, if dealt with, 
will decrease the likelihood of accidents. C\3\RS, therefore, has both 
a confidential reporting component, and a problem analysis/solution 
component. C\3\RS is expected to affect safety in two ways. First, it 
will lead to problem solving concerning specific safety conditions. 
Second, it will engender an organizational culture and climate that 
supports greater awareness of safety and a greater cooperative 
willingness to improve safety.
    If C\3\RS works as intended, it could have an important impact on 
improving safety and safety culture in the railroad industry. While 
C\3\RS has been developed and implemented with the participation of 
FRA, railroad labor, and railroad management, there are legitimate 
questions about whether it is being implemented in the most beneficial 
way, and whether it will have its intended effect. Further, even if 
C\3\RS is successful, it will be necessary to know if it is successful 
enough to implement on a wide scale. To address these important 
questions, FRA is implementing a formative evaluation to guide program 
development, a summative evaluation to assess impact, and a 
sustainability evaluation to determine how C\3\RS can continue after 
the test period is over. The evaluation is needed to provide FRA with 
guidance as to how it can improve the program, and how it might be 
scaled up throughout the railroad industry.
    Program evaluation is an inherently data driven activity. Its basic 
tenet is that as change is implemented, data can be collected to track 
the course and consequences of the change. Because of the setting in 
which C\3\RS is being implemented, that data must come from the 
railroad employees (labor and management) who may be affected. Critical 
data include beliefs about safety and issues related to safety, and 
opinions/observations about the operation of C\3\RS.
    The proposed study is a five-year demonstration project to improve 
rail safety, and is designed to identify safety issues and propose 
corrective action based on voluntary reports of close calls submitted 
to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of 
Transportation. Because of the innovative nature of this program, FRA 
is implementing an evaluation, which will be carried out by the Volpe 
National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), U.S. Department 
of Transportation, to determine whether the program is succeeding, how 
it can be improved and, if successful, what is needed to spread the 
program throughout the railroad industry. Confidential interviews to 
evaluate the close call reporting system will be conducted with two 
groups: (1) Key stakeholders to the process (e.g., FRA officials, 
industry labor, and carrier management within participating railroads); 
and (2) Employees in participating railroads who are eligible to submit 
close call reports to the Confidential Close Call Reporting System. 
Different questions will be addressed to each of these two groups. 
Confidential interviews will be semi-structured, with follow-up 
questions asked as appropriate depending on the respondent's initial 
answer.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.126A; FRA F 6180.126B.
    Affected Public: Railroad Employees and Key Non-railroad 
Stakeholders.
    Respondent Universe: 300 Select Railroad Employees/Non-railroad 
Stakeholders.
    Frequency of Submission: On Occasion.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 267 Hours.
    Status: Regular Review.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), 
1320.8(b)(3)(vi), 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 unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2007.
Belinda Ashton,
Acting Director, Office of Budget, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-13016 Filed 7-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P