[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34569-34570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15585]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2017-0002-N-3]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request; Work Force Development Survey

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation. (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and comment request.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice 
announces that FRA is forwarding the Information Collection Request 
(ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and comment. The ICR describes the information collection and 
its expected burden.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 24, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kim Toone, Information Collection 
Clearance Officer, Office of Administration, Office of Information 
Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: (202) 493-
6132). (This telephone number is not toll free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 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), and 1320.12. On March 29, 2017, FRA 
published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register soliciting comment on 
the ICR for which it is now seeking OMB approval. See 82 FR 15417. FRA 
received no comments in response to this notice.
    Before OMB decides whether to approve this proposed collection 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 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 summary below describes the ICR and its expected burden. FRA is 
submitting the new request for clearance by OMB as the PRA requires.
    Title: Workforce Development (WFD) Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-NEW.
    Abstract: The FRA has statutory responsibility to ensure the safety 
of railroad operations as prescribed in the Federal Railroad Safety Act 
of 1970 (49 U.S.C. 20103). To conduct safe railroad operations, the 
workforce must have the requisite skills to operate equipment and 
technologies. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the FRA to promote 
workforce development policy and standards to ensure the workforce has 
the necessary skills and talent to conduct safe railroad operations. 
Due to an increasingly dynamic and maturing workforce combined with 
changing skills requirements imposed by newly introduced technologies, 
there is an increasing risk in not having the necessary talent pools to 
fill critical railroad operational positions. In 2011, FRA published 
the first Railroad Industry Modal Profile: An Outline of the Railroad 
Industry Workforce Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities, which 
provided a comprehensive overview of the railroad industry workforce as 
of December 31, 2008. This document is available to the public through 
the FRA Web site. The Railroad Industry Modal Profile was a response to 
the DOT National Transportation Workforce Development Initiative that 
required each DOT Operating Administration to produce an analysis of 
its industry workforce.
    The prevailing workforce concerns during the early stages of the 
DOT National Transportation Workforce Development Initiative were the 
large number of retirement-eligible employees in transportation related 
fields and the national shortage of science, technology, engineering, 
and math graduates. Since the railroad industry had done very little 
hiring in the late 1980s and throughout most of the 1990s, the 
retirement-eligible population became quite large, even beyond that of 
most other industries and transportation modes (each of which were also 
grappling with similar retirement population concerns).
    These concerns create risk in maintaining a viable workforce, and 
to take effective and efficient action to minimize these risks, FRA 
requires trustworthy information on current WFD strategies and 
challenges. Initial

[[Page 34570]]

data collected for the modal profile established a baseline 
understanding of the risks and status. However, to validate and further 
develop the understanding of the risks, this survey is being proposed. 
With this submission, FRA is requesting permission to acquire the 
needed knowledge regarding the workforce.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Affected Public: Class I freight and passenger railroads, short 
line and regional railroads, labor unions, major associations, academia 
and specialty experts.
    Form(s): FRA Form 240.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 91.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 30.5 hours.
    Addressee: Send comments regarding these information collections to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 17th 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 DOT to properly perform its 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; the accuracy of DOT'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.

Sarah L. Inderbitzin,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-15585 Filed 7-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P