[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70398-70399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28165]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2013-0002-N-22]


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 Request (ICR) 
abstracted below is being 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 collections of information was published on September 16, 
2013 (78 FR 56995).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 26, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Ave. SE., 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., 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 September 16, 2013, FRA published a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting comment on ICRs that the agency was seeking 
OMB approval. 78 FR 56995. FRA received no comments in response to the 
information collection request (ICR) described in 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 request (ICR) and the expected burden. The revised request 
is being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the PRA.
    Title: Confidential Close Call Reporting System Evaluation-Related 
Interview Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0574.
    Type of Request: Extension with change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Abstract: In the U.S. railroad industry, injury rates have been 
declining over the last 25 years. Indeed, the industry incident rate 
fell from a high of 12.1 incidents per 100 workers per year in 1978 to 
3.66 in 1996. As the number of incidents has decreased, the mix of 
causes has also changed toward a higher proportion of incidents that 
can be attributed to human and organizational factors. This combination 
of trends--decrease in overall rates but increasing proportion of human 
factors-related incidents--has left safety managers with a need to 
shift tactics in reducing injuries to even lower rates than they are 
now.
    In recognition of the need for new approaches to improving safety, 
FRA has instituted the Confidential Close Call Reporting System 
(C\3\RS). The operating assumption behind C\3\RS is that by assuring 
confidentiality, employees will report events which, if dealt with, 
will decrease the likelihood of accidents. C\3\RS, therefore, has both 
a confidential reporting component, and a problem analysis/solution 
component. C\3\RS is expected to affect safety in two ways. First, it 
will lead to problem solving concerning specific safety conditions. 
Second, it will engender an organizational culture and climate that 
supports greater awareness of safety and a greater cooperative 
willingness to improve safety.
    If C\3\RS works as intended, it could have an important impact on 
improving safety and safety culture in the railroad industry. While 
C\3\RS has been developed and implemented with the participation of 
FRA, railroad labor, and railroad management, there are legitimate 
questions about whether it is being implemented in the most beneficial 
way, and whether it will have its intended effect. Further, even if 
C\3\RS is successful, it will be necessary to know if it is successful 
enough to implement on a wide scale. To address these important 
questions, FRA is implementing a formative evaluation to guide program 
development, a summative evaluation to assess impact, and a 
sustainability evaluation to determine how C\3\RS can continue after 
the test period is over. The evaluation is needed to provide FRA with 
guidance as to how it can improve the program, and how it might be 
scaled up throughout the railroad industry.
    Program evaluation is an inherently data driven activity. Its basic 
tenet is that as change is implemented, data can be collected to track 
the course and consequences of the change. Because of the setting in 
which C\3\RS is being implemented, that data must come from the 
railroad employees (labor and management) who may be affected. Critical 
data include beliefs about safety and issues related to safety, and 
opinions/observations about the operation of C\3\RS.
    The current study is a five-year demonstration project to improve 
rail safety, and is designed to identify safety issues and propose 
corrective action based on voluntary reports of close calls submitted 
to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Because of the innovative 
nature of this program, FRA is implementing an evaluation to determine 
whether the program is succeeding, how it can be improved and, if 
successful, what is needed to spread the program throughout the 
railroad industry. Interviews to evaluate the close call reporting 
system are being conducted with two groups: (1) Key stakeholders to the 
process (e.g., FRA officials, industry labor, and carrier management 
within participating railroads); and (2) Employees in participating 
railroads who are eligible to submit close call reports to the 
Confidential Close Call Reporting

[[Page 70399]]

System. Different questions are addressed to each of these two groups. 
Interviews are semi-structured, with follow-up questions asked as 
appropriate depending on the respondent's initial answer.
    The confidentiality of the interview data is protected by the 
Privacy Act of 1974. FRA fully complies with all laws pertaining to 
confidentiality, including the Privacy Act. Thus, information obtained 
by or acquired by FRA's contractor, the Volpe Center, from key 
stakeholders and railroad employees will be used strictly for 
evaluation purposes. None of the information that might be identifying 
will be disseminated or disclosed in any way. In addition, the 
participating railroad sites involved will require Volpe to establish a 
non-disclosure agreement that prohibits disclosure of company 
confidential information without the carrier's authorization. Also, the 
data are protected under the Department of Transportation regulation 
Title 49 CFR part 9, which is in part concerned with the Department 
involvement in proceedings between private litigants. According to this 
statute, if information is subpoenaed, Volpe and Volpe contractors 
cannot ``provide testimony or produce any material contained in the 
files of the Department, or disclose any information or produce any 
material acquired as part of the performance of that employee's 
official duties or because of that employee's official duty status'' 
unless authorized by agency counsel after determining that, in legal 
proceedings between private litigants, such testimony would be in the 
best interests of the Department or that of the United States 
Government if disclosed. Finally, the name of those interviewed will 
not be requested.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.126A; FRA F 6180.126B.
    Affected Public: Railroad Employees and Key Non-railroad 
Stakeholders.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 110 hours.
    Addressee: Send comments regarding these information collections 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 
collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of FRA, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden of the 
proposed information collections; ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collections 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 November 20, 2013.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-28165 Filed 11-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P