[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70704-70705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24604]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Approval for Information 
Collections: Joint Notice of Intent To Arbitrate and Notice of 
Availability for Arbitrator Roster

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent 
to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the 
existing collections without OMB control numbers of the Joint Notice of 
Intent to Arbitrate and Notice of Availability for Arbitrator Roster, 
as described separately below. The Board previously published a notice 
about these collections in the Federal Register. That notice allowed 
for a 60-day public review and comment period. No comments were 
received.

DATES: The comment period for the notice published September 2, 2020, 
at 85 FR 54615, is extended. Comments on these information collections 
should be submitted by December 7, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Joint Notice of Arbitration and Arbitration 
Roster.'' These comments should be directed to the Office of Management 
and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: 
Michael J. McManus, Surface Transportation Board Desk Officer: by email 
at [email protected]; by fax at (202) 395-1743; or by mail to 
Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Please also 
direct comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer, Surface Transportation 
Board, at [email protected]. For further information regarding these 
collections, contact Michael Higgins, Deputy Director, Office of Public 
Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance at (202) 245-0284 and 
at [email protected]. Assistance for the hearing impaired is 
available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are requested concerning: (1) The 
accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (3) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, when appropriate; and (4) 
whether the collections of information are necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Board, including whether the 
collections have practical utility. Submitted comments will be 
summarized and included in the Board's request for OMB approval.

Description of Collections

Information Collection 1

    Title: Joint Notice of Intent to Arbitrate.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-XXXX.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Existing collection without an OMB control number.
    Respondents: Parties seeking to submit to arbitration certain 
matters before the Board.
    Number of Respondents: One.

[[Page 70705]]

    Estimated Time Per Response: One hour.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): One.
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: None identified. Filings are 
submitted electronically to the Board.
    Needs and Uses: As an alternative to filing a written complaint, 
parties may submit a joint notice to the Board, indicating the consent 
of both parties to submit an issue in dispute to the Board's 
arbitration program. In the joint notice, parties state the issue(s) 
that they are willing to submit to arbitration. The notice must contain 
a statement that would indicate that all relevant parties are 
participants in the Board's arbitration program pursuant to Sec.  
1108.3(a), or that the relevant parties are willing to arbitrate 
voluntarily a matter pursuant to the Board's arbitration procedures, 
and the relief requested. The notice must also indicate whether parties 
have agreed to a three-member arbitration panel or a single arbitrator 
and must indicate whether the parties have mutually agreed to a lower 
amount of potential liability in lieu of the monetary award cap that 
would otherwise be applicable. The joint notice encourages greater use 
of arbitration to resolve disputes at the Board.

Information Collection 2

    Title: Notice of Availability for Arbitrator Roster.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-XXXX.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Existing collection without an OMB control number.
    Respondents: Potential arbitrators.
    Number of Respondents: 14.
    Estimated Time Per Response: One hour.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 14.
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: None identified. Filings are 
submitted electronically to the Board.
    Needs and Uses: Under 49 CFR 1108.6(b), an arbitration roster is 
compiled by the Board's Chairman. Qualified persons who wish to be 
placed on the Board's arbitration roster must submit notice of their 
availability to be added to the roster. The Chairman may augment the 
roster at any time to include eligible arbitrators and may remove from 
the roster any arbitrators who are no longer available or eligible. 
Potential arbitrators must also update their availability and 
information annually if they wish to remain available for the 
arbitration roster. The arbitration rosters are available to the public 
on the Board's website at https://prod.stb.gov/resources/litigation-alternatives/arbitration/ (look under ``Resources,'' and click on 
``Roster of Arbitrators'').
    Under the PRA, a federal agency that conducts or sponsors a 
collection of information must display a currently valid OMB control 
number. A collection of information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C. 
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements that persons 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to the agency, 
third parties, or the public. Section 3507(b) of the PRA requires, 
concurrent with an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for 
approval, a 30-day notice and comment period through publication in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information.

    Dated: November 2, 2020.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.

[FR Doc. 2020-24604 Filed 11-4-20; 8:45 am]
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