[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33868-33870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11981]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


Two-Week Notice of Request for Emergency Approval of Information 
Collection: Urgent Rail Service Issues

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Surface Transportation Board (Board) gives notice of its intent to 
request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) emergency 
approval for an existing collection without an OMB Control Number, as 
described below. If granted, the emergency approval is only valid for 
up to 180 days. If necessary, the Board will follow this emergency 
request with a submission for a 3-year approval through OMB's normal 
PRA clearance process.

DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
June 17, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer, Surface 
Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to

[[Page 33869]]

[email protected]. When submitting comments, please refer to ``Urgent Rail 
Service Issues.'' For further information regarding this collection, 
contact Ian Anderson at (202) 245-0337 or [email protected]. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are requested concerning each 
collection as to (1) whether the particular collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Board, 
including whether the collection has practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (4) 
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. Submitted 
comments will be included and summarized in the Board's request for OMB 
approval.
    Subjects: In this notice, the Board is requesting comments on the 
following information collection:

Description of Collection

    Title: Urgent Rail Service Issues.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-XXXX.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Emergency approval of an existing information 
collection without an OMB control number.
    Respondents: Class I (Large) Railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Seven.
    Estimated Time Per Response: See Table below.

                   Table--Estimated Hours per Response
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                                                             Estimated
                     Type of filing                          hours per
                                                             response
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service Recovery Plans *................................              42
Historical Data *.......................................               8
Service Progress Reports *..............................               8
Individual Conference Calls *...........................             0.5
Weekly Performance Data.................................               8
Monthly Employment Data.................................               8
Supplement to April 2022 Employment Data................               8
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* These sub-collections only apply to the four largest Class I
  railroads.

    Frequency: One-time, bi-weekly and monthly, as provided in Table 
below.

                  Table--Estimated Number of Responses
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                                             Number of       Estimated
             Type of filing                 respondents      frequency
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service Recovery Plans *................               4               1
Historical Data *.......................               4               1
Service Progress Reports *..............               4              13
Individual Conference Calls *...........               4               6
Weekly Performance Data.................               7              26
Monthly Employment Data.................               7               6
Supplement to April 2022 Employment Data               7               1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* These sub-collections only apply to the four largest Class I
  railroads.

    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 2,476 (sum 
of estimated hours per response x number of annual responses for each 
type of filing), as provided in Table below.

                                       Table--Total Estimated Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Total
                                                               Estimated    Number of    Estimated      annual
                       Type of filing                          hours per   respondents   frequency      burden
                                                                response                                hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service Recovery Plans *....................................           42            4            1          168
Historical Data *...........................................            8            4            1           32
Service Progress Reports *..................................            8            4           13          416
Individual Conference Calls *...............................          0.5            4            6           12
Weekly Performance Data.....................................            8            7           26        1,456
Monthly Employment Data.....................................            8            7            6          336
Supplement to April 2022 Employment Data....................            8            7            1           56
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden Hours...............................  ...........  ...........  ...........        2,476
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* These sub-collections only apply to the four largest Class I railroads.

    Total Annual ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: There are no non-hourly 
burden costs for this collection. The itemized sub-collections may be 
filed electronically.
    Needs and Uses: Under the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended by 
the ICC Termination Act of 1995, the Board is responsible for the 
economic regulation of common carrier rail transportation. Under 49 
U.S.C. 1321(b), 11123, and 11145(a), the Board is empowered to address 
immediate service issues. Collecting this information will enable the 
Board to take necessary action to timely deal with the unanticipated 
and urgent service issues affecting the U.S. rail system. These 
measures are meant to inform the Board's assessment of further actions 
that may be warranted to address the acute service issues facing the 
rail industry and to promote industry-wide transparency, 
accountability, and improvements in rail service.
    At the Board's April 26 and 27, 2022 public hearing in Urgent 
Issues in Freight Rail Service, the Board received extensive testimony 
on severe rail service issues reported by a wide range of witnesses--
including agricultural, energy, and other shippers, as well as 
government officials, rail labor, and rail experts. The Board has also 
continued to review and monitor weekly rail

[[Page 33870]]

service performance data that indicated substantial deterioration in 
service. This information collection focuses on the adequacy of service 
recovery efforts involving BNSF Railway Company (BNSF), CSX 
Transportation (CSXT), Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS), and Union 
Pacific Railroad Company (UP), and it requires more comprehensive and 
customer-centric reporting of all Class I (large) railroads' service 
metrics.
    In a decision served on May 6, 2022, the Board found that immediate 
action was needed to address the significant service problems, and it 
ordered certain railroads to immediately submit relevant information. 
This information collection directs the four largest U.S. rail 
carriers--UP, BNSF, CSX, and NS--to submit service recovery plans, 
along with bi-weekly progress reports for the next six months, in an 
effort to address service deficiencies that are impacting the public, 
businesses, and the U.S. economy. This collection also requires all 
Class I rail carriers operating in the United States to report more 
comprehensive and customer-centric performance metrics and employment 
data, also for a six-month period. The Board is taking this action to 
better inform its assessment of actions that may be warranted to 
address the acute service issues described above.
    The information received by the Board from this collection will be 
filed in Docket No. EP 770 (Sub-No. 1) and will be publicly available 
at www.stb.gov and may be found by a search in that docket under the 
``proceedings and dockets'' pull-down menu.
    The Board makes this submission because, 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. 
Under 5 CFR 1320.13, emergency processing is appropriate here and the 
Board is providing a two-week comment period through publication in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information.

    Dated: May 31, 2022.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-11981 Filed 6-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P