[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56698-56699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17751]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2003-0002-N-16]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its 
implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is 
soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities 
identified in the ICR.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
October 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed ICR 
should be submitted on regulations.gov to the docket, Docket No. FRA-
2023-0002. All comments received will be posted without change to the 
docket,

[[Page 56699]]

including any personal information provided. Please refer to the 
assigned OMB control number (2130-0552) in any correspondence 
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in response to this 
notice in a subsequent notice, made available to the public, and 
include them in its information collection submission to OMB for 
approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Arlette Mussington, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: [email protected] or 
telephone: (571) 609-1285 or Ms. Joanne Swafford, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: [email protected] or 
telephone: (757) 897-9908.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, and its 
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to 
provide 60-days' notice to the public to allow comment on information 
collection activities before seeking OMB approval of the activities. 
See 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through 1320.12. Specifically, 
FRA invites interested parties to comment on the following ICR 
regarding: (1) whether the information collection activities are 
necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, including whether 
the activities will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FRA's 
estimates of the burden of the information collection activities, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used to 
determine the estimates; (3) ways for FRA to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (4) ways 
for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection activities on 
the public, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
    FRA believes that soliciting public comment may reduce the 
administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the collection of 
information that Federal regulations mandate. In summary, comments 
received will advance three objectives: (1) reduce reporting burdens; 
(2) organize information collection requirements in a ``user-friendly'' 
format to improve the use of such information; and (3) accurately 
assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce information 
requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    The summary below describes the ICR that FRA will submit for OMB 
clearance as the PRA requires:
    Title: Locomotive Cab Sanitation.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0552.
    Abstract: FRA's locomotive cab sanitation standards, 49 CFR 229.137 
and 229.139, prescribe minimum standards for the locomotive cab 
sanitation compartment, including the toilet facility. FRA uses the 
information collection associated with these provisions to promote rail 
safety and locomotive crew member health by ensuring crew member access 
to a functioning and sanitary toilet facility and that railroads timely 
repair defective and unsanitary conditions in the sanitation 
compartment.
    In this 60-day notice, FRA has made a minor adjustment of less than 
one hour due to a rounding error. Additionally, FRA is updating the 
respondent universe from 746 railroads in the previous ICR to 784 
railroads to reflect the changes that were made to the 2022 Railroad 
Classification Data.
    Type of Request: Extension without change (with changes in 
estimates) of a currently approved information collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Respondent Universe: 784 railroads.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
    Reporting Burden:

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                                                                                                           Average time    Total annual     Total cost
             CFR section                    Respondent  universe            Total annual responses         per response    burden hours    equivalent in
                                                                                                             (seconds)        (hours)       U.S. dollar
                                                                      (A)...............................             (B)     (C = A * B)        (D = C *
                                                                                                                                             wage rates)
                                                                                                                                                     \1\
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229.21(a-b)--Daily inspection--        The burden for this requirement is covered under OMB Control No. 2130-0004 under Sec.   229.137 and Sec.
 Written report.                        229.139.
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229.137(d)--Defective, unsanitary      784 railroads................  11,700 tags.......................              90          292.50      $19,392.75
 toilet facility; use in trailing
 position--Tagging.
229.137(e)--Defective, sanitary        784 railroads................  7,956 tags........................              90          198.90       13,187.07
 toilet facility; use in switching,
 transfer service--Tagging.
229.139(d)--Switching or transfer      784 railroads................  93,600 notations..................              30          780.00       51,714.00
 service--defective locomotive toilet
 facility--Notation on daily
 inspection report.
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    Total............................  784 railroads................  113,256 responses.................             N/A           1,271          84,294
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    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 113,256.
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    \1\ Totals may not add due to rounding. The dollar equivalent 
cost is derived from the 2022 Surface Transportation Board Full Year 
Wage A&B data series using the burdened hourly wage of employee 
groups, 400 (Maintenance of Equipment & Stores) $67.11, and 600 
(Transportation, Train & Engine) $63.07. The wage rate is shared 
with group 400 accounting for 80% and group 600 accounting for 20%. 
The total burden wage rate (Straight time plus 75%) used in the 
table is $63.30. 80% of $67.11 = $53.69, 20% of $63.07 = $12.61 for 
a total of $66.30 hourly burdened wage rate.
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    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 1,271 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour Dollar Cost Equivalent: $84,294.
    FRA informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or 
sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection 
of information that does not display a currently valid OMB control 
number.
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

Christopher S. Van Nostrand,
Acting Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-17751 Filed 8-17-23; 8:45 am]
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