[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52842-52843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21541]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2015-0007-N-21]


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 seven days after publication of this Notice for a 
period of 180 days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this individual ICR, with 
applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by telephoning 
FRA's Office of Safety Clearance Officer: Robert Brogan (tel. (202) 
493-6292) or FRA's Office of Administration Clearance Officer: 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 OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: 
FRA OMB Desk Officer.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA issued Safety Advisory 2015-04 on August 
20, 2015, to emphasize the importance of timely repairing ballast 
defects and conditions on main tracks. FRA published Safety Advisory 
2015-04 in the Federal Register on August 26, 2015. See 80 FR 51868. In 
the Safety Advisory, FRA notes that ballast defects and ballast 
conditions that are not repaired in a timely manner can lead to future 
defects. FRA believes it is important for track inspectors to be aware 
that ballast defects and conditions can cause track components to 
deteriorate rapidly and compromise the stability of the track 
structure, and that inspectors are trained to identify and repair 
ballast defects and conditions. This safety advisory recommends that 
track owners and railroads: (1) Assess current engineering instructions 
on ballast safety and update them to provide specific guidance to track 
inspectors (designated personnel that are qualified to inspect and 
repair track) on how to identify and initiate remedial action under 49 
CFR 213.233(d) for ballast defects and conditions, as well as on the 
appropriate remedial action to implement, particularly in areas with 
one or more additional track conditions; (2) train track inspectors on 
the updated engineering instructions and this safety advisory to ensure 
they understand how to identify and initiate remedial action for 
ballast defects and conditions in a timely manner, and understand the 
importance of such remedial action in preventing the development of 
unsafe combinations of track conditions; and (3) ensure that 
supervisors provide adequate oversight of track inspectors to achieve 
identification and remediation of ballast defects and other track 
conditions.
    FRA is requesting Emergency processing approval seven days after 
publication of this Federal Register Notice because FRA cannot 
reasonably comply with normal clearance procedures on account of use of 
normal clearance procedures is reasonably likely to disrupt the 
collection of information. The associated collection of information is 
summarized below.
    Title: Ballast Defects and Conditions--Importance of Identification 
and Repair in Preventing Development of Unsafe Combinations of Track 
Conditions.
    Reporting Burden:

[[Page 52843]]



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                                      Respondent         Total annual      Average time per      Total annual
     Safety advisory 2015-04           universe            responses           response          burden hours
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(1) RR Assessment and Update of   754 Railroads.....  100 assessments +   60 minutes........  200 hours.
 Engineering Instructions to                           100 engineering
 provide Guidance to Its Track                         instruction
 Inspectors on How to Identify                         updates.
 and Repair Ballast Defects and
 Other Ballast Conditions.
(2) RR Training of Its Track      754 Railroads.....  10,000 trained      60 minutes........  10,000 hours.
 Inspectors on Updated                                 track inspectors/
 Engineering Instructions and                          records.
 FRA Safety Advisory 2015-04.
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    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Respondent Universe: 754 Railroads.
    Frequency of Submission: One-time; on occasion.
    Total Estimated Responses: 10,200.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 10,200 hours.
    Status: Emergency Review.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(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 August 26, 2015.
Corey Hill,
Acting Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-21541 Filed 8-31-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P