[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 13, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27369-27370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10991]



[[Page 27369]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. FRA-2014-0011-N-10]

Federal Railroad Administration


Agency Request for Emergency Processing of Collection of 
Information by the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department 
of Transportation (USDOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: FRA hereby gives notice that it is submitting the following 
Information Collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for emergency processing under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995. FRA requests that OMB authorize the collection of information 
identified below on May 13, 2014, for a period of 180 days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this individual ICR, with 
applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by calling FRA's 
Clearance Officers: Robert Brogan (tel. (202) 493-6292) or Kimberly 
Toone (tel. (202) 493-6132); these numbers are not toll-free), or by 
contacting Mr. Brogan via facsimile at (202) 493-6216 or Ms. Toone via 
facsimile at (202) 493-6497, or via email by contacting Mr. Brogan at 
[email protected]; or by contacting Ms. Toone at [email protected]. 
Comments and questions about the ICR identified below should be 
directed to Docket No. DOT-OST-2014-0067 at the following site: http://regulations.gov.
    Title: DOT Secretary's Emergency Order Docket No. DOT-OST-2014-
0067.
    Reporting Burden:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Respondent         Total annual      Average time per      Total annual
    Emergency Order Item No.           universe            responses           response          burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) RR Notification to SERCs....  47 railroads......  120 written         30 hours..........  3,600 hours.
                                                       notifications.
(2) Updated RR Notification to    47 railroads......  25 updated written  4 hours...........  100 hours.
 SERCs.                                                notifications.
(3) Notification Copies to FRA..  47 railroads......  10 notification     60 minutes........  10 hours.
                                                       copies.
(4) Requests to RRs by SERCs for  47 railroads......  30 informational    30 minutes........  60 hours.
 Information from Local                                assistance
 Emergency Response Agencies                           requests + 30
 Regarding the Volume and                              informational
 Frequency of Train Traffic                            responses.
 Implicated by this Emergency
 Order within that Agency's
 Jurisdiction and RR Responses.
(5) Petitions to the Secretary/   47 railroads......  4 relief petitions  2 hours...........  8 hours.
 FRA Administrator for Relief
 from This Emergency Order.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Respondent Universe: 47 Railroad Carriers; 50 State Emergency 
Response Commissions (SERCs).
    Frequency of Submission: One-time; on occasion.
    Total Responses: 219.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 3,778 hours.
    Status: Emergency Review.
    Description: On May 7, 2014, the Secretary of Transportation issued 
Emergency Order Docket No. DOT-OST-2014-0067 (EO), requiring affected 
railroad carriers to provide certain information to the State Emergency 
Response Commissions (SERCs) for each State in which their trains 
carrying 1 million gallons or more of Bakken crude oil travel. The EO 
is available through the Department's public docket system at 
www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. DOT-OST-2014-0067. The EO is the 
Department's direct and proactive response to a recent series of train 
accidents involving the transportation of petroleum crude oil, a 
hazardous material the transportation of which is regulated by the 
Department. The most recent accident occurred on April 30, 2014, when a 
train transporting petroleum crude oil derailed in Lynchburg, Virginia 
and released approximately 30,000 gallons of its contents into the 
James River. Further, the EO explains that, with the rising demand for 
rail transportation of petroleum crude oil throughout the United 
States, the risk of rail incidents has increased commensurate with the 
increase in the volume of the material shipped and that there have been 
several significant derailments in both the U.S. and Canada over the 
last several months causing deaths and property and environmental 
damage that involved petroleum crude oil. DOT emergency orders are rare 
and the EO itself describes the most recent accidents and circumstances 
leading the agency to issue the EO. The collection of information 
included under this EO is aimed at ensuring that railroads that 
transport in a single train a large quantity of petroleum crude oil (1 
million gallons or more), particularly crude oil from the Bakken shale 
formation in the Williston Basin, provide certain information to the 
relevant SERCs in each State in which the railroad operates such 
trains. Ensuring that railroads provide this information to SERCs is 
critical to ensuring that local and State emergency responders are 
aware of the large quantities of crude oil that are being transported 
through their jurisdictions and are prepared to respond to accidents 
involving such trains should they occur.
    As provided under 5 CFR 1320.13, Emergency Processing, DOT is 
requesting emergency processing for this new collection of information 
as specified in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its 
implementing regulations. DOT cannot reasonably comply with normal 
clearance procedures because the use of normal clearance procedures is 
reasonably likely to disrupt the collection of information. The EO 
takes effect immediately upon issuance, although the railroads have 30 
days to provide the required information to the SERCs. Under the EO, 
railroads must immediately initiate steps to implement the Order, and 
if notification is not made to a SERC within 30 days of the EO's 
issuance, a railroad is prohibited from transporting Bakken crude oil 
in large quantities single trains in any state until such notification 
is made. Ensuring States and emergency responders are aware of the 
large quantities of Bakken crude oil moving through their jurisdictions 
and having the opportunity to appropriately prepare to respond to any 
potential incidents involving these trains is critical to ensuring 
safety and mitigating any impacts if a rail accident/incident does

[[Page 27370]]

occur. DOT finds this collection of information is essential to the 
mission of the agency, and it is, therefore, requesting OMB approval of 
this collection of information as soon as possible.
    Upon OMB approval of its emergency clearance request, DOT will 
follow the normal clearance procedures for the information collection 
associated with the EO.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), 
FRA informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or sponsor, 
and a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

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

    Issued in Washington, DC on May 8, 2014.
Erin McCarthy,
Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-10991 Filed 5-12-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P