[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 225 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70359-70360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27526]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
Intent To Request Approval From OMB of One New Public Collection
of Information: Security Program for Hazardous Materials Motor Carriers
& Shippers
AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.
ACTION: 60-Day Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) invites
public comment on a new information collection requirement abstracted
below that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for approval in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The
collection involves the submission of security training program
evaluation forms by hazardous materials (hazmat) motor carriers and
shippers after participants have received the training.
DATES: Send your comments by January 20, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to Joanna Johnson,
Communications Branch, Business Management Office, Operational Process
and Technology, TSA-32, Transportation Security Administration, 601
South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanna Johnson at the above address,
or by telephone (571) 227-3651 or facsimile (571) 227-3588.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a valid OMB control number. The ICR documentation is available
at http://www.reginfo.gov. Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and
approval of the following information collection, TSA is soliciting
comments to--
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Information Collection Requirement
TSA's Highway & Motor Carrier Division will be producing a
voluntary security-related training course for the hazmat motor carrier
and shipper industry. Participants will be able to choose to attend
instructor-led training sessions that TSA will conduct at multiple
sites in the United States, and TSA will advise the industry of the
availability of the training through trade associations, conferences,
and stakeholder meetings. Hazmat motor carriers and shippers that are
registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will
automatically receive the training via CD-ROM and DVD. Companies may
also complete the training on-line at the TSA public Web site, http://www.tsa.gov. The Web site training is available to the public and does
not require a log-in or password. After completion of the training
program, participants will have the option to complete a course
evaluation form to comment on the effectiveness of the training
program. The participants who choose to complete the training
evaluation form will submit the form via e-mail to a secure Web
surveyor tool that is managed by TSA. Participants who attend the
classroom training sessions will also be asked to complete an
evaluation form on-site, which will later be entered into the Web
surveyor tool by TSA personnel. TSA will use this data to measure the
program's effectiveness at achieving its goal of heightened security
awareness levels throughout the hazmat motor carrier and shipper
industry.
Hazmat motor carriers and shippers that are registered with the DOT
are eligible to receive the training; there are approximately seventy-
five thousand (75,000) shippers registered.
Currently, DOT requires awareness and in-depth security training
for hazmat employees of persons required to have a security plan in
accordance with subpart I of 49 CFR part 172 concerning the security
plan and its implementation. See 49 CFR
[[Page 70360]]
172.704(a)(4)(5).\1\ The training CD-ROM and DVD will provide the
necessary training curriculum and tools to be incorporated into the
companies' annual security training program. The approximate number of
hazmat employees who potentially could participate in the training
program via instructor-led sessions, CD-ROM, DVD, or the TSA public Web
site could approach approximately one hundred thousand (100,000)
employees, depending on the level of participation. The training will
be produced and delivered in a format that will allow companies that
choose to complete the evaluation to have their employees take the
training program individually or in a classroom setting and receive a
certificate for completion of the training program. This will allow
companies to keep a copy of the employee's training certificate in
their personnel training files in accordance with 49 CFR 172.704. Since
security training is already a Federal requirement for the hazmat motor
carrier and shipper industry, the subject motor carrier or shipper
companies should only incur small incremental costs associated with
taking the voluntary training program produced by TSA.
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\1\ This security training must include company security
objectives, specific security procedures, employee responsibilities,
actions to take in the event of a security breach, and the
organizational security structure.
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Purpose of Data Collection
As prescribed by the President in Homeland Security Presidential
Directive 7 (HSPD-7), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is
tasked with protecting our nation's critical infrastructure and key
resources (CI/KR). Through the National Infrastructure Protection Plan
(NIPP), DHS gives guidance and direction as to how the Nation will
secure its infrastructure. Furthermore, HSPD-7 and the NIPP assigned
the responsibility for infrastructure security in the transportation
sector to TSA. To this effect, the NIPP further tasks each sector to
build security partnerships, set security goals, and measure their
effectiveness. Through its voluntary Corporate Security Review (CSR)
Program, TSA's Highway and Motor Carrier Division has conducted
security reviews of numerous hazmat motor carriers and shippers in
order to analyze various aspects of each company's security program.
Through this review process, TSA has determined that improved security
awareness and in-depth training for hazmat motor carrier and shipper
company employees would enhance security. To increase the security
awareness levels across the hazmat motor carrier and shipper
industries, TSA plans to develop and distribute a security awareness/
in-depth training program and will request voluntary feedback from
hazmat motor carrier and shipper companies that elect to receive the
training.
Hazmat motor carrier and shipper companies can take the training
via CD-ROM and DVD, during classroom training sessions, or via the TSA
public Web site. For those taking the classroom training sessions, TSA
will hand out an evaluation form to collect feedback regarding the
security training program. Participants can also complete the
evaluation form on-line after completing the training. TSA will collect
the forms and evaluate the results. TSA will use the survey results to
guide TSA on future hazmat motor carrier and shipper transportation
security initiatives. TSA plans to conduct the data collection over a
two- to three-year period in order to allow for maximum distribution
and use of the training program throughout the industry, and for
participating companies to complete full training cycles.
Description of Data Collection
TSA will ask participating companies that voluntarily complete the
Security Awareness Training program via the CD-ROM to log on to a TSA-
managed secure Web site to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the
training. Participants that complete the training program via the
classroom sessions will be asked to complete an evaluation form on-site
after the training is completed. TSA's Highway & Motor Carrier Division
staff will manually input the data into the Web surveyor tool system.
As part of the evaluation form, TSA will collect information such
as employee position, type of company, knowledge of material before and
after the training, and overall training satisfaction. TSA will not
collect the respondent's personal information as part of the course
evaluation form. TSA will use this data to measure the program's
effectiveness at achieving its goal of heightened security awareness
levels throughout the hazmat motor carrier and shipper industry.
Use of Results
The primary use of this information is to allow TSA to assess the
effectiveness of the training program and training CD-ROM within the
hazmat motor carrier and shipper industries. The secondary purpose of
this information is for TSA to obtain, based on individual company
input, an indication of participation levels throughout the hazmat
motor carrier and shipper industries. This data will be kept for at
least one year or long enough to collect a significant sample size
(percentage) of the hazmat motor carrier and shipper industries to be
used in identifying additional training needs to enhance the industry's
security posture.
Frequency
Most companies administer their security awareness training
curriculum on an annual or bi-annual cycle. Typically, companies will
generate quarterly or annual reports on employee training progress. At
other companies, employees may receive training periodically as needed
and submit feedback via the evaluation form between one and four times
per year, which TSA equates to an average frequency for this collection
of two times per year. Thus, company employees would provide TSA
feedback approximately once every two years.
Out of the approximately 75,000 individual hazmat motor carrier and
shipper companies, TSA estimates that approximately 75 percent of the
companies that receive the CD-ROM training will incorporate it into
their training plans. This number can be assumed due to the current DOT
requirement (49 CFR 172.704) for certain hazmat motor carriers and
shippers to conduct security awareness and in-depth training for their
hazmat employees. TSA assumes that 50 percent of those who take the
training will provide feedback on the training program. TSA estimates
the average hour burden per response per shipper/carrier company
employee will be approximately 20 minutes. TSA estimates the total
annual hour burden will be dependent on the number of company employees
that participate per motor carrier/shipper company. Therefore, TSA
estimates that the maximum total annual hour burden will be
approximately 16,667 hours per year for all motor carrier/shipper
industry participants [50,000 employees x 20 minutes = 16,667 hours].
Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on November 13, 2008.
Kurt Guyer,
Acting Program Manager, Business Improvements and Communications,
Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. E8-27526 Filed 11-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-05-P