[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49322-49323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19573]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2010-0005-N-16]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (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 Requirements (ICRs) 
abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of 
the information collection and their expected burden. The Federal 
Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collections of information was published on May 28, 2013.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 12, 2013.

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 May 28, 2013, FRA published a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register soliciting comment on this ICR that the agency was seeking OMB 
approval. 78 FR 32005. FRA 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 requirements (ICRs) and the expected burden for the ICRs 
that will be 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 a Currently Approved 
Information Collection.
    Affected Public: 1,525 Railroads/Vendors/Universities.
    Abstract: The Rail Safety Technology Program is a program 
authorized 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

[[Page 49323]]

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 originally 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. Presently, there is $550,000 remaining of the original 
funds that FRA plans to fund two projects with. 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 two eligible 
participants. 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.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.146; SF-269; SF-270.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 5,337 hours.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0589.
    Abstract: Section 202 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) of 
2008 required the Secretary of Transportation (delegated to the Federal 
Railroad Administrator by 49 CFR 1.49) to identify the 10 States that 
have had the most-highway-rail grade crossing collisions, on average, 
over the past three years, and to require those States to develop State 
highway-rail grade crossing action plans, within a reasonable period of 
time, as determined by the Secretary. Section 202 of the law further 
provided that these plans must identify specific solutions for 
improving safety at crossings, including highway-rail grade crossing 
closures or grade separations, and must focus on crossings that have 
experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk for such accidents.
    Section 202 also provided the following: The Secretary will provide 
assistance to the States in developing and carrying out such plans, as 
appropriate; the plans may be coordinated with other State or Federal 
planning requirements; the plans will cover a period of time determined 
to be appropriate by the Secretary; and the Secretary may condition the 
awarding of any grants under 49 U.S.C. 20158, 20167, or 22501, to a 
State identified under this section, on the development of such State's 
plan.
    Lastly, Section 202 provided a review and approval process under 
which, not later than 60 days after the Secretary receives such a State 
action plan, the Secretary must review and either approve or disapprove 
it. In the event that the proposed plan is disapproved, Section 202 
indicates that the Secretary must notify the affected State as to the 
specific areas in which the proposed plan is deficient, and the State 
must correct all deficiencies within 30 days following receipt of 
written notice from the Secretary.
    FRA uses the collection of information to ensure that States meet 
the Congressional mandate and devise and implement suitable plans to 
reduce/eliminate troublingly high numbers of highway-rail grade 
collisions in their States. FRA reviews grade these crossing action 
plans and grade crossing action plan revisions to ensure that these 
plans include the following: (1) Identify specific solutions for 
improving safety at highway-rail grade crossings, including highway-
rail grade crossing closures or grade separations, (2) Focus on 
crossings that have experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk 
for such accidents, and (3) Cover a five-year period of time.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 40 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 email 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 August 7, 2013.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-19573 Filed 8-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P