[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72748-72749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28856]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2013-0002-N-23]


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 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below are being forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs 
describe the nature of the information collections and their expected 
burdens. 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 January 2, 2014.

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 September 16, 2013, FRA published a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register soliciting comment on these ICRs for which the agency 
is seeking OMB approval. 78 FR 56995. FRA received no comments in 
response to this notice pertaining to the two renewal collections of 
information referenced below.
    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 
of this Notice 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 requests (ICRs) and the expected burden being submitted for 
clearance by OMB as required by the PRA.
    Title: Railroad Communications.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0524.
    Type of Request: Extension with change of a previously approved 
collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Abstract: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) amended its 
radio standards and procedures to promote compliance by making the 
regulations more flexible; to require wireless communications devices, 
including radios, for specified classifications of railroad operations 
and roadway workers; and to re-title this part to reflect its coverage 
of other means of wireless communications such as cellular telephones, 
data radio

[[Page 72749]]

terminals, and other forms of wireless communications to convey 
emergency and need-to-know information. The new rule establishes safe, 
uniform procedures covering the use of radio and other wireless 
communications within the railroad industry.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Total Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 337,717 hours.
    Title: Safety Integration Plans.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a previously approved 
collection.
    Abstract: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Surface 
Transportation Board (STB), working in conjunction with each other, 
have issued joint final rules establishing procedures for the 
development and implementation of safety integration plans (``SIPs'' or 
``plans'') by a Class I railroad proposing to engage in certain 
specified merger, consolidation, or acquisition of control transactions 
with another Class I railroad, or a Class II railroad with which it 
proposes to amalgamate operations. The scope of the transactions 
covered under the two rules is the same. FRA uses the information 
collected, notably the required SIPs, to maintain and promote a safe 
rail environment by ensuring that affected railroads (Class Is and some 
Class IIs) address critical safety issues unique to the amalgamation of 
large, complex railroad operations.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Total Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 528 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 November 26, 2013.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-28856 Filed 12-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P