[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14799-14800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05644]



[[Page 14799]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2017-0010]


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 
(OST-R); Request for Clearance for an Information Collection: Annual 
Tank Car Survey

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The BTS is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for an information collection related to tank car 
facilities to obtain an estimate of tank cars projected to be modified 
or built to the new safer Department of Transportation (DOT) standards.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
May 22, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
2017-0010 through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. You may also submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID 
Number DOT-OST-2017-0010 to the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT), Dockets Management System (DMS). You may submit your comments by 
mail or in person to the Docket Clerk, Docket Management System, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., West Building 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. Comments should identify the docket 
number as indicated above. Paper comments should be submitted in 
duplicate. The DMS is open for examination and copying, at the above 
address, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal 
holidays. If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your 
written comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard 
with the following statement: ``Comments on Docket DOT-OST-2017-0010.'' 
The Docket Clerk will date stamp the postcard prior to returning it to 
you via the U.S. mail. Please note that due to delays in the delivery 
of U.S. mail to Federal offices in Washington, DC, we recommend that 
persons consider an alternative method (the Internet, fax, or 
professional delivery service) to submit comments to the docket and 
ensure their timely receipt at U.S. DOT. You may fax your comments to 
the DMS at (202) 493-2251. Comments can also be viewed and/or submitted 
via the Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please note that anyone is able to electronically search all 
comments received into our docket management system by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may 
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; pages 19475-19570) 
or you may review the Privacy Act Statement at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clara Reschovsky, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Research and Technology, Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Room E34-409, Washington, DC 20590, Telephone (202) 366-
2857.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the requirements of 44 
U.S.C. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) (the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), 
this notice announces the intention of the BTS to request the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval for an information collection 
related to Section 7308 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation 
Act (Pub. L. 114-94; the ``FAST Act''). Specifically, Section 7308(c) 
of the FAST ACT directs the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a 
survey of tank car facilities to obtain an estimate of tank cars 
projected to be modified or built to the new safer Department of 
Transportation (DOT) Specification 117 or 117R. In order to satisfy the 
FAST Act requirements, BTS is planning the data collection. BTS invites 
comments on its intention to collect information from tank car 
retrofitting and manufacturing facilities on the planned and projected 
number of tank cars to be retrofitted or manufactured beginning the 
next calendar year, annually. Any facility identified with the capacity 
to modify or build new tank cars to the 117 or 117R specification, as 
described in Section 7308(c) of the FAST Act will be included in the 
survey identified in this notice and submit the results to the Bureau 
of Transportation Statistics (BTS) no later than 60 days upon request. 
Individual responses to the survey will be kept confidential and a 
summary report of aggregate findings will be provided to:
    (1) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate; and
    (2) The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives.
    In addition, this summary report will also be published to the BTS 
Web page.
    Title: Annual Tank Car Survey.
    Background: On December 4, 2015, President Barack Obama signed 
legislation entitled ``Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 
2015,'' or the ``FAST Act.'' See Public Law 114-94. The FAST Act 
includes the ``Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Improvement 
Act of 2015'' (see Sections 7001 through 7311) and instructs the 
Secretary of Transportation to make specific regulatory amendments to 
the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180), 
including requirements for certain persons to report the progress 
toward modifying rail tank cars used for the transportation of Class 3 
flammable liquids in accordance with the timeline established in 
Section 7304 of the FAST Act.
    This notice is applicable to Section 7308(c) of the FAST Act which 
directs the Secretary to conduct an annual survey of tank car shops to 
acquire projections of the number of tank cars to be built or 
manufactured to the new safer specifications. This includes those tank 
cars modified to the DOT Specification 117R, or equivalent, as well as 
any new tank cars built to the DOT Specification 117, or equivalent. 
Modified tank cars will include, but may not be limited to, those 
previously built to Specifications: DOT105, DOT109, DOT111, DOT112, 
DOT114, DOT115, and DOT120.
    Respondents: Across the nation there are approximately 400 tank car 
facilities that are currently registered or certified to build or 
modify tank cars. However, the majority of these do not have the 
capacity to modify or build to the 117 or 117R Specifications. It is 
estimated that, at most, 140 tank car shops possess the required 
capacity to build or modify to these new safer requirements.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: It is estimated that 140 
facilities will provide one response each to this request for 
information on an annual basis, and that it will take approximately 30 
minutes to complete, including record keeping and reporting. This 
notice is intended to accurately account for the annual burden.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The estimated burden is equal to 70 
annual burden hours (i.e., 140 responses per year x 0.5 hour per 
response). The total burden cost is estimated at $3,342 (i.e., 70 
burden hours x $47.74 per hour for a manager in Transportation, 
Storage, and Distribution).

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    Frequency: The survey frequency is prescribed by Section 7308(d) of 
the FAST Act. Specifically, this section requires the Secretary to 
conduct the survey under Section 7308(c) annually until May 1, 2029.
    Public Comments Invited: Interested parties are invited to send 
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, 
including, but not limited to: (1) The necessity and utility of the 
information collection for the proper performance of the functions of 
the DOT; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, clarity and content of the collected information; 
and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the 
quality of the collected information. Comments submitted in response to 
this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 9, 2017.
Patricia S. Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-05644 Filed 3-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P