[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 221 (Thursday, November 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69074-69075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25073]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of 
Collection: Statutory Authority To Preserve Rail Service

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) approval without 
change of the existing collection, Preservation of Rail Service, OMB 
Control No. 2140-0022, as described below.

DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
January 13, 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 ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Statutory Authority to Preserve Rail Service.'' 
For further information regarding this collection, contact Mike Higgins 
at (866) 254-1792 (toll-free) or 202-245-0238, or by emailing 
[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.

[[Page 69075]]

    Subjects: In this notice, the Board is requesting comments on the 
extension of the following information collection:

Description of Collection

    Title: Preservation of Rail Service.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0022.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Affected shippers, communities, or other interested 
persons seeking to preserve rail service over rail lines that are 
proposed or identified for abandonment, and railroads that are required 
to provide information to the offeror or applicant: Approximately 25.
    Frequency: On occasion, as follows:

                    Table--Number of Yearly Responses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Estimated annual
                   Type of filing                      average number of
                                                        filings (2019-
-------------------------------------------------------------2021)------
Offer of Financial Assistance (and related filings).                   1
Request for Public Use Condition....................                   1
Feeder Line Application.............................                   1
Trail Use Request (with extensions).................                  17
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 205 hours 
(total of estimated hours per response x number of responses for each 
type of filing).

                                       Table--Estimated Total Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Estimated annual      Number of
                      Type of filing                        average number of     hours per     Total estimated
                                                             filings (2019-       response        burden hours
------------------------------------------------------------------2021)-----------------------------------------
Offer of Financial Assistance (and related filings)......                   1              46                 46
Request for Public Use Condition.........................                   1               4                  4
Feeder Line Application..................................                   1              70                 70
Trail Use Request (with extensions)......................                  17               5                 85
                                                          ------------------------------------------------------
    Total burden hours...................................  ..................  ..............                205
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: None identified. Filings may be 
submitted electronically to the Board.
    Needs and Uses: The Surface Transportation Board is, by statute, 
responsible for the economic regulation of common carrier freight 
railroads and certain other carriers operating in the United States. 
Under the laws the Board administers, persons seeking to preserve rail 
service may file pleadings before the Board to acquire or subsidize a 
rail line for continued service, or to impose a trail use or public use 
condition.
    When a line is proposed for abandonment, affected shippers, 
communities, or other interested persons may seek to preserve rail 
service by filing with the Board: an offer of financial assistance 
(OFA) to subsidize or purchase a rail line for which a railroad is 
seeking abandonment (49 U.S.C. 10904), including a request for the 
Board to set terms and conditions of the financial assistance; a 
request for a public use condition (section 10905); or a trail use 
request (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)). Similarly, when a line is placed on a 
system diagram map identifying it as an anticipated or potential 
candidate for abandonment, affected shippers, communities, or other 
interested persons may seek to preserve rail service by filing with the 
Board a feeder line application to purchase the identified rail line 
(Sec.  10907). Additionally, the railroad owning the rail line subject 
to abandonment must, in some circumstances, provide information to the 
applicant or offeror.
    As to trail use, the STB will issue a CITU or NITU to a prospective 
trail sponsor who seeks an interim trail use agreement with the rail 
carrier of the rail line that is being abandoned. The CITU/NITU permits 
parties to negotiate for an interim trail use agreement. The parties 
may also agree to an extension of the negotiating period. If parties 
reach an agreement, then they must jointly notify the Board of that 
fact and of any modification or vacancy of the agreement. There is a 
one-year period for any initial interim trail use negotiating period 
(with potential extensions).
    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: November 14, 2022.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-25073 Filed 11-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P