[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 108 (Monday, June 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32236-32237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13462]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2010-0005-N-12]


Information Collection Requirement; Notice and Request for 
Comments

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 March 31, 2010 (75 FR 16228).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 7, 2010.

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. Kimberly 
Toone, Office of Information Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6132). (These telephone 
numbers are not toll-free.).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 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 March 31, 2010, FRA published a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting comment on this ICR that the agency was 
seeking OMB approval. 75 FR 16228. FRA

[[Page 32237]]

received no comments in response to this notice.
    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: Notice of Funding Availability and Solicitation of 
Applications for Grants under the Railroad Safety Technology Grant 
Program.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0587.
    Type of Request: Regular Approval of an Emergency Clearance.
    Affected Public: 40 Railroads.
    Abstract: The Rail Safety Technology Program is a newly authorized 
program under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) (Pub. L. 
110-432; October 16, 2008). The program was directed by Congress and 
passed into law in the aftermath of a series of major rail accidents 
that culminated in an accident at Chatsworth, California, in 2008. 
Twenty-five people were killed and 135 people were injured in the 
Chatsworth accident. This event turned the Nation's attention to rail 
safety and the possibility that new technologies, such as PTC, could 
prevent such accidents in the future. The RSIA ordered installation of 
PTC by all Class I railroads on any of their mainlines carrying 
poisonous inhalation hazard (PIH) materials and by all passenger and 
commuter railroads on their main lines not later than December 31, 
2015.
    As part of the RSIA, Congress provided $50 million to FRA to award, 
in one or more grants, to eligible projects by passenger and freight 
rail carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local Governments. 
Funds will be awarded to projects that have a public benefit of 
improved railroad safety and efficiency, with priority given to 
projects that make PTC technologies interoperable between railroad 
systems; projects that accelerate the deployment of PTC technology on 
high-risk corridors, such as those that have high volumes of hazardous 
material shipments; and for projects over which commuter or passenger 
trains operate, or that benefit both passenger and freight safety and 
efficiency.
    Funds provided under this grant program may constitute a maximum of 
80 percent of the total cost of a selected project, with a minimum of 
20 percent of costs funded from other sources. The funding provided 
under these grants will be made available to grantees on a 
reimbursement basis. FRA anticipates awarding grants to multiple 
eligible participants. FRA may choose to award a grant or grants within 
the available funds in any amount. Funding made available through 
grants provided under this program, together with funding from other 
sources that is committed by a grantee as part of a grant agreement, 
must be sufficient to complete the funded project and achieve the 
anticipated technology development. FRA began accepting grant 
applications 10 days after publication of the Notice of Funds 
Availability, which was published on March 29, 2010, in the Federal 
Register detailing the terms of the Railroad Safety Technology Grant 
Program. Applications may be submitted until July 1, 2010. Selection 
announcements will be made on or around September 3, 2010.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.146; SF-269; SF-270.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 11,385 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 June 1, 2010.
Kimberly Coronel,
Director, Office of Financial Management, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-13462 Filed 6-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P