[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 212 (Thursday, November 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66345-66346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23948]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension and Modification of an 
Existing 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 seek 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an 
extension and modification of an existing and approved information 
collection, as described below. An emergency approval was granted for 
this collection (OMB Control Number 2140-0041), expiring on January 31, 
2023. The Board is now seeking to extend and modify that collection 
with a submission through OMB's regular PRA clearance process.

DATES: Comments on these information collections should be submitted by 
January 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer, Surface 
Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to 
[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: 2140-0041.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Revision and extension of currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents: Class I (Large) Railroads.
    Number of Respondents: See Table 1 below.
    Estimated Time per Response: See Table 1 below.
    Frequency: One-time, bi-weekly and monthly, as provided in Table 1 
below.
    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 3,024 (sum 
of estimated hours per response x number of annual responses for each 
type of filing), as provided in Table 1 below.

[[Page 66346]]



                                      Table 1--Total Estimated Burden Hours
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                                                     Estimated
                 Type of filing                      hours per       Number of       Estimated     Total burden
                                                     response       respondents      frequency         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service Progress Reports........................               8               4              13             416
Weekly Performance Data.........................               8               7              26           1,456
Monthly Employment Data.........................              16               7               6             672
Interim Update..................................             120               4               1             480
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Burden Hours..........................  ..............  ..............  ..............           3,024
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 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 significant service problems, and it 
ordered certain railroads to immediately submit relevant information. 
The Board took this action to better inform its assessment of actions 
that may be warranted to address rail service issues. In a decision 
served on June 13, 2022, the Board required UP, BNSF, CSXT, and NS to 
correct deficiencies in their service recovery plans and provide 
additional information on their actions to improve service and 
communications with customers.
    Now, in a decision served on October 28, 2022, the Board extended 
the temporary reporting period for all seven Class I carriers and 
required certain updated information from UP, BNSF, CSXT, and NS. The 
Board directed these four carriers to continue to submit biweekly 
service progress reports for an additional six-month period, until May 
5, 2023. The Board also directed all Class I railroads to submit weekly 
performance data during this period.
    Although not all Class I carriers are experiencing service problems 
to the same degree, the U.S. rail system is an interconnected network 
and problems in one geographic area can quickly spread elsewhere. The 
application of certain reporting requirements to all Class I carriers 
allows the Board to assess the current service issues across the entire 
rail network. All Class I carriers must also continue to submit monthly 
employment data in this docket, as described in the May 6 Order. 
Specific instructions for this information collection and analysis of 
recent data are provided in the October 28 order.
    The information received by the Board from this collection will 
continue to be filed in Docket No. EP 770 (Sub-No. 1) and will be 
publicly available at www.stb.gov. The information 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 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), federal agencies are required to 
provide, prior to an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for 
approval, a 60-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: October 31, 2022.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-23948 Filed 11-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P