[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 36 (Thursday, February 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11501-11502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03788]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval: Class I 
Railroad Annual Report

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the

[[Page 11502]]

Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent 
to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an 
extension of the collection of Class I Railroad Annual Reports, as 
described below.

DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
March 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Class I Railroad Annual Report.'' 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 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 
``Statutory Authority to Preserve Rail Service.'' For further 
information regarding this collection, contact Pedro Ramirez at (202) 
245-0333 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 74206 (Dec. 2, 
2022)). That notice allowed for a 60-day public review and comment 
period. No comments were received.
    Comments are requested concerning: (1) the accuracy of the Board's 
burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; (3) 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; and (4) whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Board, including whether the collection has practical utility. 
Submitted comments will be summarized and included in the Board's 
request for OMB approval.
    Subjects: In this notice, the Board is requesting comments on the 
extension of the following information collection:

Description of Collection

    Title: Class I Railroad Annual Report.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0009.
    Form Number: R-1.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Class I railroads.
    Number of Respondents: Seven.
    Estimated Time per Response: No more than approximately 250 hours. 
This estimate includes time spent reviewing instructions; searching 
existing data sources; gathering and maintaining the data needed; 
completing and reviewing the collection of information; and converting 
the data from the carrier's individual accounting system to the Board's 
Uniform System of Accounts, which ensures that the information will be 
presented in a consistent format across all reporting railroads. In 
prior years, the estimate was higher, but many of these functions have 
become automated and more routine through the respondents' software 
programming. Thus, the time per response has been reduced, with 
additional technological efficiencies anticipated in the future.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Total Annual Hour Burden: No more than approximately 1,750 hours 
annually.
    Total Annual ``Non-Hour Burden'' Cost: The respondent carriers are 
required by statute to submit a copy of the annual report, signed under 
oath. See 49 U.S.C. 11145. A hard copy of the report is mailed to the 
agency at an estimated cost of $6.00 per respondent, resulting in a 
total annual non-burden-hour cost of approximately $42.00 for all seven 
respondents. No other non-hour costs for operation, maintenance, or 
purchase of services associated with this collection have been 
identified, as: (a) this collection will not impose start-up costs on 
respondents; and (b) an additional copy of the report in Excel format 
is submitted to the agency electronically.
    Needs and Uses: Annual reports are required to be filed by Class I 
railroads under 49 U.S.C. 11145. The reports show operating expenses 
and operating statistics of the carriers. Operating expenses include 
costs for right-of-way and structures, equipment, train and yard 
operations, and general and administrative expenses. Operating 
statistics include such items as car-miles, revenue-ton-miles, and 
gross ton-miles. These reports are used by the Board, other Federal 
agencies, and industry groups to monitor and assess railroad industry 
growth, financial stability, traffic, and operations, and to identify 
industry changes that may affect national transportation policy. 
Information from these reports is also entered into the Uniform 
Railroad Costing System (URCS), which is the Board's general purpose 
costing methodology. URCS, which was developed by the Board pursuant to 
49 U.S.C. 11161, is used as a tool in rail rate proceedings (in 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 10707(d)) to calculate the variable costs 
associated with providing a particular service. The Board also uses 
information from this collection to more effectively carry out other 
regulatory responsibilities, including: acting on railroad requests for 
authority to engage in Board-regulated financial transactions such as 
mergers, acquisitions of control, and consolidations, see 49 U.S.C. 
11323-24; analyzing the information that the Board obtains through the 
annual railroad industry waybill sample, see 49 CFR 1244; measuring 
off-branch costs in railroad abandonment proceedings, in accordance 
with 49 CFR 1152.32(n); developing the ``rail cost adjustment 
factors,'' in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 10708; and conducting 
investigations and rulemakings.
    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.
    Information from certain schedules contained in these reports is 
compiled and published on the Board's website, https://www.stb.gov/reports-data/economic-data/. Information in these reports is not 
available from any other source.

    Dated: February 17, 2023.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-03788 Filed 2-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P