[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8400-8402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2662]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2008-0018 (Notice No. 08-1)]


Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review; 2008 Renewals

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICR) 
abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comments. The ICRs describe the nature of 
the information collections and their expected burden. A Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collections of information was published in the Federal 
Register on November 30, 2007 [72 FR 67782] under Docket No. PHMS-2007-
27181 (Notice No. 07-11). No comments pertaining to the renewal of 
these information collections were received.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for PHMSA, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of 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. A comment to OMB is most 
effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Boothe or T. Glenn Foster, 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Hazardous Materials 
Standards (PHH-11), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., East Building, 2nd Floor, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001, Telephone (202) 366-8553.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations requires PHMSA to provide interested members of the public 
and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies 
information collection requests that PHMSA will be submitting to OMB 
for renewal and extension. These information collections are contained 
in 49 CFR parts 110 and 130 and the Hazardous Materials Regulations 
(HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). PHMSA has revised burden estimates, where 
appropriate, to reflect current reporting levels or adjustments based 
on changes in proposed or final rules published since the information 
collections were last approved. The following information is provided 
for each information collection: (1) Title of the information 
collection, including former title if a change is being made; (2) OMB 
control number; (3) abstract of the information collection activity; 
(4) description of affected public; (5) estimate of total annual 
reporting and recordkeeping burden; and (6) frequency of collection. 
PHMSA will request a three-year term of approval for each information 
collection activity and, when approved by OMB, publish notice of the 
approval in the Federal Register.
    PHMSA requests comments on the following information collections:
    Title: Testing, Inspection and Marking Requirements for Cylinders.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0022.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: Requirements in Sec.  173.301 for qualification, 
maintenance and use of cylinders require that cylinders be periodically 
inspected and retested to ensure continuing compliance with packaging 
standards. Information collection requirements address registration of 
retesters and marking of cylinders by retesters with their 
identification number and retest date following conduct of tests. 
Records showing the results of inspections and retests must be kept by 
the cylinder owner or designated agent until expiration of the retest 
period or until the cylinder is reinspected or retested, whichever 
occurs first. These requirements are intended to ensure that retesters 
have the qualifications to perform tests and to identify to cylinder 
fillers and users that cylinders are qualified for continuing use. 
Information collection requirements in Sec.  173.303 require that 
fillers of acetylene cylinders keep, for at least 30 days, a daily 
record of the representative pressure to which cylinders are filled.
    Affected Public: Fillers, owners, users and retesters of reusable 
cylinders.
    Recordkeeping:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 139,352.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 153,287.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 168,431.
    Frequency of collection: On occasion.

    Title: Approvals for Hazardous Materials.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0557.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: Without these requirements there is no means to: (1) 
Determine whether applicants who apply to become designated approval 
agencies are qualified to evaluate package design, test packages, 
classify hazardous materials, etc.; (2) verify that various containers 
and special loading requirements for vessels meet the requirements of 
the HMR; and (3) assure that regulated hazardous materials pose no 
danger to life and property during transportation.
    Affected Public: Businesses and other entities which must meet the 
approval requirements in the HMR.
    Recordkeeping:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,723.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 11,074.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 25,605.
    Frequency of collection: On occasion.

    Title: Rail Carrier and Tank Car Tank Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0559.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: This information collection consolidates and describes 
the information provisions in parts 172, 173, 174, 179, and 180 of the 
HMR on the transportation of hazardous materials by rail and the 
manufacture, qualification, maintenance and use of tank cars. The types 
of information collected include:
    (1) Approvals of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Tank 
Car

[[Page 8401]]

Committee: An approval is required from the AAR Tank Car Committee for 
a tank car to be used for a commodity other than those specified in 
part 173 and on the certificate of construction. This information is 
used to ascertain whether a commodity is suitable for transportation in 
a tank car. AAR approval also is required for an application for 
approval of designs, materials and construction, conversion or 
alteration of tank car tanks constructed to a specification in part 179 
or an application for construction of tank cars to any new 
specification. This information is used to ensure that the design, 
construction or modification of a tank car or the construction of a 
tank car to a new specification is performed in accordance with the 
applicable requirements.
    (2) Progress Reports: Each owner of a tank car that is required to 
be modified to meet certain requirements specified in Sec.  173.31(b) 
must submit a progress report to the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA). This information is used by FRA to ensure that all affected tank 
cars are modified before the regulatory compliance date.
    (3) FRA Approvals: An approval is required from FRA to transport a 
bulk packaging (such as a portable tank, IM portable tank, intermediate 
bulk container, cargo tank, or multi-unit tank car tank) containing a 
hazardous material in container-on-flat-car or trailer-on-flat-car 
service other than as authorized by Sec.  174.63. FRA uses this 
information to ensure that the bulk package is properly secured using 
an adequate restraint system during transportation. Also an FRA 
approval is required for the movement of any tank car that does not 
conform to the applicable requirements in the HMR. PHMSA proposed 
(September 30, 1999; 64 FR 53169) to broaden this provision to include 
the movement of covered hopper cars, gondola cars, and other types of 
railroad equipment when they no longer conform to Federal law but may 
safely be moved to a repair location. These latter movements are 
currently being reported under the information collection for special 
permit applications.
    (4) Manufacturer Reports and Certificate of Construction: These 
documents are prepared by tank car manufacturers and are used by 
owners, users and FRA personnel to verify that rail tank cars conform 
to the applicable specification.
    (5) Quality Assurance Program: Facilities that build, repair, and 
ensure the structural integrity of tank cars are required to develop 
and implement a quality assurance program. This information is used by 
the facility and DOT compliance personnel to ensure that each tank car 
is constructed or repaired in accordance with the applicable 
requirements.
    (6) Inspection Reports: A written report must be prepared and 
retained for each tank car that is inspected and tested in accordance 
with Sec.  180.509 of the HMR. Rail carriers, users, and the FRA use 
this information to ensure that rail tank cars are properly maintained 
and in safe condition for transporting hazardous materials.
    Affected Public: Manufacturers, owners and rail carriers of tank 
cars.
    Recordkeeping:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 266.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 16,782.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 2,689.
    Frequency of collection: Annually.

    Title: Inspection and Testing of Meter Provers.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0620.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: This information collection and recordkeeping burden is 
the result of efforts to eliminate special permits that are no longer 
needed and incorporate the use, inspection, and maintenance of 
mechanical displacement meter provers (meter provers) used to check the 
accurate flow of liquid hazardous materials into bulk packagings, such 
as portable tanks and cargo tank motor vehicles, under the HMR. These 
meter provers are used to ensure that the proper amount of liquid 
hazardous materials is being loaded and unloaded involving bulk 
packagings, such as cargo tanks and portable tanks. These meter provers 
consist of a gauge and several pipes that always contain small amounts 
of the liquid hazardous material in the pipes as residual material; 
and, therefore, must be inspected and maintained in accordance with the 
HMR to ensure they are in proper calibration and working order. These 
meter provers are not subject to the specification testing and 
inspection requirements in Part 178. However, these meter provers must 
be visually inspected annually and hydrostatic pressure tested every 
five years in order to ensure they are properly working as specified in 
Sec.  173.5a of the HMR. Therefore, this information collection 
requires that:
    (1) Each meter prover must undergo and pass an external visual 
inspection annually to ensure that the meter provers used in the flow 
of liquid hazardous materials into bulk packagings are accurate and in 
conformance with the performance standards in the HMR.
    (2) Each meter prover must undergo and pass a hydrostatic pressure 
test at least every five years to ensure that the meter provers used in 
the flow of liqiuid hazardous materials into bulk packagings are 
accurate and in conformance with the performance standards in the HMR.
    (3) Each meter prover successfully completing the test and 
inspection must be marked in accordance with Sec.  180.415(b) and in 
accordance with Sec.  173.5a.
    (4) Each owner must retain a record of the most recent visual 
inspection and pressure test until the meter prover is requalified.
    Affected Public: Owners of meter provers used to measure liquid 
hazardous materials flow into bulk packagings such as cargo tanks and 
portable tanks.
    Recordkeeping:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 250.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 175.
    Frequency of collection: On occasion.

    Title: Requirements for United Nations (UN) Cylinders.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0621.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: This information collection and recordkeeping burden is 
the result of efforts to amend the HMR to adopt standards for the 
design, construction, maintenance and use of cylinders and multiple-
element gas containers (MEGCs) based on the standards contained in the 
United Nations (UN) Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous 
Goods. Aligning the HMR with the UN Recommendations will promote 
flexibility, permit the use of technological advances for the 
manufacture of the pressure receptacles, provide for a broader 
selection of pressure receptacles, reduce the need for exemptions, and 
facilitate international commerce in the transportation of compressed 
gases. Information collection requirements address domestic and 
international manufacturers of cylinders that request approval by the 
approval agency for cylinder design types. The approval process for 
each cylinder design type includes review, filing, and recordkeeping of 
the approval application. The approval agency is required to maintain a 
set of the approved drawings and calculations for

[[Page 8402]]

each design it reviews and a copy of each initial design type approval 
certificate approved by the Associate Administrator for not less than 
20 years.
    Affected Public: Fillers, owners, users, and retesters of UN 
cylinders.
    Recordkeeping:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 150.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 900.
    Frequency of collection: On occasion.

    Issued in Washington, DC on February 8, 2008.
Edward T. Mazzullo,
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards.
 [FR Doc. E8-2662 Filed 2-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P