[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 848-850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-128]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board


30-Day Notice and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION: 30-day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq. (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (Board) gives notice 
that it is requesting from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an 
extension of approval without change of the seven existing collections 
described below.
    Comments are requested concerning each collection as to (1) whether 
the particular collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Board, including whether the 
collection has practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the Board's 
burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, when appropriate.

DATES: Written comments are due on February 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board,'' and should 
refer to the title of the specific collection(s) commented upon. These 
comments should be directed to the Office of Management and Budget, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Chandana 
Achanta, Surface Transportation Board Desk Officer, by fax at (202) 
395-6974; by mail at Room 10235, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20503; or at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s) contact Scott Decker at (202) 245-0330 
or [email protected]. [Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) for 
the hearing impaired: (800) 877-8339.]
    Subjects: In this notice the Board is requesting that comments be 
sent to OMB on the following information collections:

Collection Number 1

    Title: Class I Railroad Annual Report.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0009.
    Form Number: R1.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: As long as 800 hours, based on 
information provided by the railroad industry during the 1990s. This 
estimate includes time spent reviewing instructions; searching existing 
data sources; gathering and maintaining the data needed; completing and 
reviewing the collection of information; and converting the data from 
the carrier's individual accounting system to the Board's Uniform 
System of Accounts (USOA), which ensures that the information will be 
presented in a consistent format across all reporting railroads, see 49 
U.S.C. 11141-43, 11161-64, 49 CFR 1200-1201. It is likely that the 
estimated time to produce this report is overstated, given the advances 
made in computerized data collection and processing systems.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.

[[Page 849]]

    Total Annual Hour Burden: Up to 5,600 hours annually.
    Total Annual ``Non-Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: Annual reports are required to be filed by Class I 
railroads under 49 U.S.C. 11145. The reports show operating expenses 
and operating statistics of the carriers. Operating expenses include 
costs for right-of-way and structures, equipment, train and yard 
operations, and general and administrative expenses. Operating 
statistics include such items as car-miles, revenue-ton-miles, and 
gross ton-miles. The reports are used by the Board, other Federal 
agencies, and industry groups to monitor and assess railroad industry 
growth, financial stability, traffic, and operations, and to identify 
industry changes that may affect national transportation policy. 
Information from this report is also entered into the Board's Uniform 
Rail Costing System (URCS), which is a cost measurement methodology. 
URCS, which was developed by the Board pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11161, is 
used as a tool in rail rate proceedings, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 
10707(d), to calculate the variable costs associated with providing a 
particular service. The Board also uses this information to more 
effectively carry out other of its regulatory responsibilities, 
including: Acting on railroad requests for authority to engage in 
Board-regulated financial transactions such as mergers, acquisitions of 
control, and consolidations, see 49 U.S.C. 11323-11324; analyzing the 
information that the Board obtains through the annual railroad industry 
waybill sample, see 49 CFR 1244; measuring off-branch costs in railroad 
abandonment proceedings, in accordance with 49 CFR 1152.32(n); 
developing the ``rail cost adjustment factors,'' in accordance with 49 
U.S.C. 10708; and conducting investigations and rulemakings.
    Information from certain schedules contained in these reports is 
compiled and published on the Board's Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov. 
Information in these reports is not available from any other source.

Collection Number 2

    Title: Quarterly Report of Revenues, Expenses, and Income--
Railroads (Form RE&I).
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0013.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: 168 hours annually
    Total Annual ``Non Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: This collection is a report of railroad operating 
revenues, operating expenses and income items; it is a profit and loss 
statement, disclosing net railway operating income on a quarterly and 
year-to-date basis for the current and prior years. See 49 CFR 1243.1. 
The Board uses the information in this report to ensure competitive, 
efficient, and safe transportation through general oversight programs 
that monitor and forecast the financial and operating condition of 
railroads, and through regulation of railroad rate and service issues 
and rail restructuring proposals, including railroad mergers, 
consolidations, acquisitions of control, and abandonments. Information 
from these reports is used by the Board, other Federal agencies, and 
industry groups to monitor and assess industry growth and operations, 
detect changes in carrier financial stability, and identify trends that 
may affect the national transportation system. Some of the information 
from these reports is compiled by the Board in our quarterly Selected 
Earnings Data Report, which is published on the Board's Web site, 
http://www.stb.dot.gov. The information contained in these reports is 
not available from any other source.

Collection Number 3

    Title: Quarterly Condensed Balance Sheet--Railroads (Form CBS).
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0014.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: 168 hours annually.
    Total Annual ``Non-Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: This collection shows the balance (quarterly and 
cumulative) for the current and prior year of the carrier's assets and 
liabilities, gross capital expenditures, and revenue tons carried. See 
49 CFR 1243.2. The Board uses the information in this report to ensure 
competitive, efficient, and safe transportation through general 
oversight programs that monitor and forecast the financial and 
operating condition of railroads, and through specific regulation of 
railroad rate and service issues and rail restructuring proposals, 
including railroad mergers, consolidations, acquisitions of control, 
and abandonments. Information from these reports is used by the Board, 
other Federal agencies, and industry groups to assess industry growth 
and operations, detect changes in carrier financial stability, and 
identify trends that may affect the national transportation system. 
Revenue ton-miles, which are reported in these reports, are compiled 
and published by the Board in its quarterly Selected Earnings Data 
Report, which is published on the Board's Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov. The information contained in these reports is not 
available from any other source.

Collection Number 4

    OMB Control Number: 2140-0004.
    Title: Report of Railroad Employees, Service and Compensation (Wage 
Forms A and B).
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: As long as 30 hours per quarterly 
report and 40 hours per annual summation, based on information provided 
by the railroad industry during the 1990s. Again, it is likely that the 
time required to collect this information is overstated given the 
advances made in computerized data collection and processing systems.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly, with an annual summation.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: Up to 1120 hours annually.
    Total Annual ``Non-Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: This collection shows the number of employees, 
service hours, and compensation, by employee group (e.g., executive, 
professional, maintenance-of-way and equipment, and transportation), of 
the reporting railroads. See 49 CFR 1245. The information is used by 
the Board to forecast labor costs and measure the efficiency of the 
reporting railroads. The information is also used by the Board to 
evaluate proposed regulated transactions that may impact rail 
employees, including mergers and consolidations, acquisitions of 
control,

[[Page 850]]

purchases, and abandonments. Other Federal agencies and industry 
groups, including the Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, and Association of American Railroads, use the information 
contained in the reports to monitor railroad operations. Certain 
information from these reports is compiled and published on the Board's 
Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov. The information contained in these 
reports is not available from any other source.

Collection Number 5

    Title: Monthly Report of Number of Employees of Class I Railroads 
(Wage Form C).
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0007.
    Form Number: STB Form 350.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.25 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Monthly.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: 105 hours annually
    Total Annual ``Non-Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: This collection shows, for each reporting carrier, 
the average number of employees at mid-month in the six job-
classification groups that encompass all railroad employees. See 49 CFR 
1246. The information is used by the Board to forecast labor costs and 
measure the efficiency of the reporting railroads. The information is 
also used by the Board to evaluate the impact on rail employees of 
proposed regulated transactions, including mergers and consolidations, 
acquisitions of control, purchases, and abandonments. Other Federal 
agencies and industry groups, including the Railroad Retirement Board, 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Association of American Railroads, use 
the information contained in these reports to monitor railroad 
operations. Certain information from these reports is compiled and 
published on the Board's Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov. The 
information contained in these reports is not available from any other 
source.

Collection Number 6

    Title: Annual Report of Cars Loaded and Cars Terminated.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0011.
    Form Number: Form STB-54.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: 28 hours annually.
    Total Annual ``Non Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: This collection reports the number of cars loaded 
and cars terminated on the reporting carrier's line. See 49 CFR 1247. 
Information in this report is entered into the Board's URCS, the uses 
of which are explained under Collection Number 1. There is no other 
source for the information contained in this report.

Collection Number 7

    OMB Control Number: 2140-0001.
    Title: Quarterly Report of Freight Commodity Statistics (Form QCS).
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Fewer than 10.
    Estimated Time per Response: 217 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Quarterly, with an annual summation.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: 6,076 hours annually.
    Total Annual ``Non-Hour Burden'' Cost: No ``non-hour cost'' burdens 
associated with this collection have been identified.
    Needs and Uses: This collection, which is based on information 
contained in carload waybills used by railroads in the ordinary course 
of business, reports car loadings and total revenues by commodity code 
for each commodity that moved on the railroad during the reporting 
period. See 49 CFR 1248. Information in this report is entered into the 
Board's URCS, the uses of which are explained under Collection Number 
1. There is no other source for the information contained in this 
report.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, a Federal agency conducting 
or sponsoring a collection of information must display a currently 
valid OMB control number. A collection of information, which is defined 
in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements 
that persons submit reports, keep records, or provide information to 
the agency, third parties, or the public. Under the PRA and 5 CFR 
1320.8, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless the 
collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. Section 
3507(b) of the PRA requires, concurrent with an agency's submitting a 
collection to OMB for approval, a 30-day notice and comment period 
through publication in the Federal Register concerning each proposed 
collection of information, including each proposed extension of an 
existing collection of information.

Andrea Pope-Matheson,
Clearance Clerk.
 [FR Doc. E9-128 Filed 1-7-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P