[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 181 (Monday, September 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48119-48120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22583]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2009-0001-N-23]


Notice and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Requirement (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. 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 July 6, 2009 (74 FR 32029).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 21, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Safety, 
Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 25, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6292), or Ms. Nakia Jackson, 
Office of Information Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6073). (These telephone 
numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law No. 104-13, Section 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 issue two notices seeking 
public comment on information collection activities before OMB may 
approve paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 
1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On July 6, 2009, FRA published a 60-day notice 
in the Federal Register soliciting comment on this ICR that the agency 
was seeking OMB approval. 74 FR 32029. FRA received one comment--a 
letter--in response to this notice.
    The letter came from Mr. Freddie Simpson, President of the 
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED). BMWED is a rail labor 
organization representing approximately 36,000 railroad workers who 
build, maintain, repair and inspect tracks, bridges, and related 
railroad infrastructure throughout North America. In his remarks, Mr. 
Simpson stated the following:

    In response to the Proposed Agency Information Collection 
Activities; Comment Request published in the Federal Register on 
July 6, 2009, (Volume 74, Number 127, pages 32029-32030) BMWED 
supports the proposed study and related information collection 
activities. As such, BMWED respectfully requests OMB approval.

    BMWED offers the following comments in support:

     The proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the Department to fulfill its Congressional mandate under the RSIA 
to conduct a track inspection time study. This information is 
necessary to evaluate the conditions under which visual track 
inspections are conducted and to develop a report to the Congress 
responsive to Section 403 of the RSIA.
     The collected information will have practical utility 
to the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) in their analysis of track inspection issues 
within the industry.
     The Department's estimates of burden hours and costs 
are reasonable.
     The methodology proposed for this information 
collection activity is suitable and appropriate for the study and 
the respondent population and will facilitate the collection of data 
with high utility.
     The proposed information collection activity has been 
designed to be minimally burdensome on respondents and the proposed 
information collection activity is of limited duration.
    Visual track inspections conducted under 49 CFR Parts 213.233, 
213.235 and 213.365 play a vital and integral role in maintaining 
track structural integrity and the safety of railroad operations. 
BMWED believes that the ``Track Transportation [track inspection] 
Time Study, OMB Control Number: 2130-NEW, Docket No. FRA-2009-0001-
N-16'' is necessary to allow the Secretary to fulfill the 
Congressional mandate of Section 403 of the RSIA to: (1) determine 
whether the required intervals of track inspections for each class 
of track should be amended; (2) determine whether track remedial 
action requirements should be amended; (3) determine whether 
different track inspection and repair priorities or methods should 
be required; and (4) determine whether the speed at which railroad 
track inspection vehicles operate and the scope of the territory 
they generally cover allow for proper inspection of the track and 
whether such speed and appropriate scope should be regulated by the 
Secretary.

FRA received no other comments in response to this notice. Accordingly, 
DOT announces that these information collection activities have been 
evaluated and certified under 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for 
review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.10(a).
    Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summary below describes the nature of the information 
collection requirement (ICR) and the expected burden for the ICR being 
submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the PRA.
    Title: Track Transportation Time Study.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-New.
    Type of Request: Regular Approval of a New Collection of 
Information.
    Affected Public: Track Inspectors/Track Inspector Supervisors/
Division and Chief Engineers
    Abstract: The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-432) 
calls for a track inspection time study to be performed by FRA. The 
information required to develop the report will be at least partially 
obtained through a series of information gathering surveys which are 
focused on various aspects of track inspection. Each survey will be 
customized for a particular segment of the workforce and will include 
track inspectors, track supervisors or roadmasters, middle management 
(division engineers), and senior management (chief engineers).

[[Page 48120]]

    The purpose of the proposed study is to address four issues raised 
in the Rail Safety Improvement Act: (1.) Determine whether the required 
intervals of track inspections for each class of track should be 
amended; (2.) Determine whether track remedial action requirements 
should be amended; (3.) Determine whether different track inspection 
and repair priorities or methods should be required; and (4.) Determine 
whether the speed at which railroad track inspection vehicles operate 
and the scope of the territory they generally cover allow for proper 
inspection of the track and whether such speed and appropriate scope 
should be regulated by the Secretary.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.136; FRA F 6180.137.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 133 hours.
    Addressee: Send comments regarding this information collection to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, 
Attention: FRA Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via e-mail to 
OMB at the following address: [email protected].
    Comments are invited on the following: 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 best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

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

    Issued in Washington, DC on September 14, 2009.
Kimberly Orben,
Director, Office of Financial Management, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-22583 Filed 9-18-09; 8:45 am]
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