[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 88 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25064-25065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09816]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, 
and Approvals; Annual Tank Car Facility Survey

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), U. S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics (BTS) to request the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) approval of an extension for an information collection 
from 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. A summary report of survey findings will be submitted 
to Congress and published by BTS on the BTS web page.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 9, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clara Reschovsky, (202) 366-2857, Tank 
Car Facility Survey Project Manager, BTS, OST-R, Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room E36-324, Washington, DC 
20590. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., E.T., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Annual Tank Car Facility Survey.
    Type of Request: Approval for an extension of an existing 
information collection.
    Affected Public: There are approximately 175 tank car facilities 
with the capacity to manufacture or retrofit tank cars capable of 
carrying Class 3 flammable liquids nationwide.
    Abstract: Section 7308(c) of the Fixing America's Surface 
Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114-94; 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. Over time, this data collection has and will continue to inform 
Congress as well as the Department of Transportation as to industry's 
progress in upgrading the nation's fleet of rail cars to be safer in 
the event of an incident involving tank cars carrying Class 3 Flammable 
liquids. BTS has been collecting and intends to continue 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 and annually thereafter 
until 2029. 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 is requested to submit the results to the 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) no later than 60 days upon 
request. This will be a voluntary data collection. Individual responses 
to the survey will be kept confidential and a summary report of 
aggregate findings will be provided to:

[[Page 25065]]

    (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.
    Data Confidentiality Provisions: The Annual Tank Car Facility 
Survey may collect confidential business information. The 
confidentiality of these data will be protected under Title V of the E-
Government Act, the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA). In accordance with this legislation, 
individual responses will not be disclosed in any direct or indirect 
manner and only aggregated statistical information will be made 
available through reports.
    Frequency: This survey will be updated every year until 2029.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: The burden per respondent is 
estimated to be an average of 30 minutes. This includes the time 
required to gather records as well as respond to the survey.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 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, 175 tank car shops 
possess the required capacity to build or modify to these new safer 
requirements. The total annual burden is estimated to be 87.5 hours 
(that is 30 minutes per respondent for 175 respondents equals 5,250 
minutes).
    Response to Comments: A 60-day notice requesting public comment was 
issued in the Federal Register on January 11, 2021 (Volume 86, Number 
6; pages 2030-2031). No comments were received.
    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. Send comments to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725-17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: BTS Desk Officer.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on this 5th day of May, 2021.
Cha-Chi Fan,
Director, Office of Data Development and Standards, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2021-09816 Filed 5-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P