[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73388-73389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23600]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Approval for Information 
Collections: Joint Notice of Intent To Arbitrate and Notice of 
Availability for Arbitrator Roster

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
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 information collections of the Joint Notice of Intent 
to Arbitrate and Notice of Availability for Arbitrator Roster, as 
described separately below.

DATES: Comments on these information collections should be submitted by 
December 26, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, 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, Arbitration Procedures under 49 CFR 1108.'' For further 
information regarding this collection, contact Michael Higgins, Deputy 
Director, Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and 
Compliance, at (202) 245-0284 or at [email protected]. If you require an 
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call 
(202) 245-0245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.

Description of Information Collections

    OMB Control Number: 2140-0038.

Information Collection 1

    Title: Joint Notice of Intent to Arbitrate.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Parties seeking to submit to arbitration certain 
matters before the Board.
    Number of Respondents: One.
    Estimated Time per Response: One hour.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): One hour.
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: None identified. Filings are 
submitted electronically to the Board.
    Needs and Uses: Under 49 CFR 1108.5, arbitration commences with a 
written complaint that contains a statement that the relevant parties 
are participants in the Board's arbitration program, or that the 
complainant is willing to arbitrate the dispute pursuant to the Board's 
arbitration procedures. The respondent's answer to the written 
complaint must then indicate the respondent's participation in the 
Board's arbitration program or its willingness to arbitrate the dispute 
at hand pursuant to the Board's arbitration procedures.
    As an alternative to filing a written complaint, parties may submit 
a joint notice to the Board, indicating the consent of both parties to 
submit an issue in dispute to the Board's arbitration program. In the 
joint notice, parties state the issue(s) that they are willing to 
submit to arbitration. The notice must contain a statement that would 
indicate that all relevant parties are participants in the Board's 
arbitration program pursuant to 1108.3(a), or that the relevant parties 
are willing to arbitrate voluntarily a matter pursuant to the Board's 
arbitration procedures, and the relief requested. The notice must also 
indicate whether parties have agreed to a three-member arbitration 
panel or a single arbitrator and must indicate whether the parties have 
mutually agreed to a lower amount of potential liability in lieu of the 
monetary award cap that would otherwise be applicable. The joint notice 
encourages greater use of arbitration to resolve disputes at the Board.

Information Collection 2

    Title: Notice of Availability for Arbitrator Roster.
    STB Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Potential arbitrators.
    Number of Respondents: 23.
    Estimated Time per Response: One hour.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 23 hours.
    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: None identified. Filings are 
submitted electronically to the Board.
    Needs and Uses: Under 49 CFR 1108.6(b), an arbitration roster is 
compiled by the Chairman, and potential interested, qualified persons 
who wish to be placed on the Board's arbitration roster must submit 
notice of their availability to be added to the roster. The Chairman 
may augment the roster at any time to include eligible arbitrators and 
remove from the roster any arbitrators who are no longer available or 
eligible. Potential arbitrators must also update their availability and 
information annually, if they wish to remain available for the 
arbitration

[[Page 73389]]

roster. The arbitration rosters are available to the public on the 
Board's website at https://www.stb.gov/resources/litigation-alternatives/arbitration/#arbitration-procedures.
    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 20, 2023.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-23600 Filed 10-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P