[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1672-1674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-00491]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2016-0002-N-1]


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 renewal 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 burden. The Federal 
Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collections of information was published on October 19, 2015.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 12, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Safety, Safety Regulatory 
Analysis 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, Information Collection Clearance 
Officer, Office of Administration, 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, sec. 2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised at 
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its

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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), and 1320.12. On October 19, 2015, FRA 
published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register soliciting comment on 
ICRs that the agency is seeking OMB approval. See 80 FR 63272. 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 summaries below describe the nature of the information 
collection requests (ICRs) and their expected burdens. The renewal 
requests are being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the 
PRA.
    Title: Secretary of Transportation Emergency Order Docket No. DOT-
OST-2014-0067.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0604.
    Abstract: As noted in the summary above, on May 7, 2014, the 
Secretary of Transportation issued Emergency Order (EO) Docket No. DOT-
OST-2014-0067 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. This EO is available through the Department's 
public docket system at www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. DOT-OST-
2014-0067. The EO took effect immediately upon issuance, although 
affected railroads were permitted 30 days to provide the required 
information to the SERCs. 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.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses (Railroads).
    Form(s): N/A.
    Total Annual Estimated Responses: 229.
    Total Annual Estimated Burden: 3,773 hours.
    Title: Ballast Defects and Conditions--Importance of Identification 
and Repair in Preventing Development of Unsafe Combinations of Track 
Conditions.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0614.
    Abstract: 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 noted 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 seeking regular Clearance of this information collection 
request that was previously approved under Emergency Processing 
procedures on September 9, 2015.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Total Annual Estimated Responses: 10,200.
    Total Annual Estimated Burden: 10,200 hours.
    Title: Disqualification Proceedings.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0529.
    Abstract: Under 49 U.S.C. 20111(c), FRA is authorized to issue 
orders disqualifying railroad employees, including supervisors, 
managers, and other agents, from performing safety-sensitive service in 
the rail industry for violations of safety rules, regulations, 
standards, orders, or laws evidencing unfitness. FRA's regulations, 49 
CFR part 209, subpart D, implement the statutory provision by 
requiring: (i) A railroad employing or formerly employing a 
disqualified individual to disclose the terms and conditions of a 
disqualification order to the individual's new or prospective employing 
railroad; (ii) a railroad considering employing an individual in a 
safety-sensitive position to ask the individual's previous employing 
railroad whether the

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individual is currently serving under a disqualification order; and 
(iii) a disqualified individual to inform his new or prospective 
employer of the disqualification order and provide a copy of the same. 
Additionally, the regulations prohibit a railroad from employing a 
person serving under a disqualification order to work in a safety-
sensitive position. This information serves to inform a railroad 
whether an employee or prospective employee is currently disqualified 
from performing safety-sensitive service based on the issuance of a 
disqualification order by FRA. Furthermore, it prevents an individual 
currently serving under a disqualification order from retaining and 
obtaining employment in a safety-sensitive position in the rail 
industry.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses (Railroads).
    Form(s): N/A.
    Total Annual Estimated Responses: 3.
    Total Annual Estimated Burden: 5 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 the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department'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 January 7, 2016.
Corey Hill,
Acting Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-00491 Filed 1-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P