[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2151-2153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00517]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


30-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 
February 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board: Urgent Rail 
Service Issues.'' Written comments for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted via www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
This information collection can be accessed by selecting ``Currently 
under Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the

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search function. As an alternative, written comments may be directed to 
the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Michael J. McManus, Surface 
Transportation Board Desk Officer: via 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 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: The Board previously published a notice 
about this collection in the Federal Register (87 FR 66345 (Nov. 3, 
2022)). That notice allowed for a 60-day public review and comment 
period. No comments were received.
    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.

                                      Table 1--Total Estimated Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Estimated
                 Type of filing                      hours per       Number of       Estimated     Total burden
                                                     response       respondents      frequency         hours
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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 other rail interests. 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

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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.
    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.

    Decided date: January 9, 2023.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-00517 Filed 1-11-23; 8:45 am]
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