[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 211 (Thursday, November 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75367-75368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24198]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2023-0002-N-26]


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 
January 2, 2024.

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, including any personal information provided. Please refer to 
the assigned OMB control number (2130-0566) in any correspondence 
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in a subsequent 30-day 
notice and include them in its information collection submission to 
OMB.

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: Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling Stock.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0566.
    Abstract: FRA issued this regulation to mandate the 
reflectorization of freight rolling stock (using retroreflective 
material on freight cars and locomotives) to enhance the visibility of 
trains to reduce the number and severity of accidents at highway-rail 
grade crossings where visibility was a contributing factor.\1\ FRA uses 
the information collected to verify that the person responsible for the 
car reporting mark is notified after the required visual inspection 
when the freight equipment has less than 80 percent of the required 
retroreflective sheeting present, undamaged, or unobscured.
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    \1\ See 70 FR 144, Jan. 3, 2005.
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    Moreover, FRA uses the information collected to verify that the 
required locomotive records of retroreflective sheeting defects found, 
after inspection, are kept in the locomotive cab or in a railroad 
accessible electronic database that FRA can access upon request. 
Finally, FRA uses the information collected to confirm that railroads/
car owners meet the prescribed standards for the inspection and 
maintenance of the required retroreflective material.
    In this 60-day notice, FRA makes no adjustments to the previously 
approved burden hours and responses in the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) inventory.\2\
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    \2\ Changes to the total cost equivalent in U.S. dollars, a 
category not included in the OIRA inventory, are due to updated 
statistics from the 2022 Surface Transportation Board (STB) Full 
Year Wage A&B data series.
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    Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Respondent Universe: 783 railroads and freight car owners.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion/monthly.
    Reporting Burden:

[[Page 75368]]



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                                                                                                    Total cost
         CFR section              Respondent      Total annual     Average time    Total annual    equivalent in
                                   universe        responses       per response    burden hours     U.S dollar
                                                (A)............  (B)............     (C = A * B)   (D = C * wage
                                                                                                      rates) \3\
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224.7--Waivers...............  783 railroads &  10 petitions...  8 hours........           80.00       $6,874.40
                                freight car
                                owners.
224.15(b)--Special approval    2 manufacturers  2 petitions....  40 hours.......           80.00        6,874.40
 procedures--Petitions for
 special approval of
 alternative standard.
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    --(d)(3) Hearing on the     FRA anticipates that there will be zero hearings during this 3-year ICR period.
     petition in accordance
     with the procedures
     provided in Sec.
     211.25.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    --(e) Disposition of                  This requirement is exempted from PRA under 5 CFR 1320.4(2).
     petitions.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
224.101--General requirements      The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under Sec.
                                                                     224.15.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
224.103(d)--Characteristics    The requirements for this part are included as part of the standard manufacturing
 retroreflective sheeting--                                         process.
 Certification.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
224.103(e)--Characteristics        The estimated paperwork burden for this requirement is covered under Sec.
 retroreflective sheeting--                                          224.15.
 Alternative standards.
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
224.109(a)--Inspection,        Association of   33,380           5 minutes......        2,781.67      186,677.87
 repair, and replacement--      American         notifications.
 Railroad freight cars--        Railroads/300
 Railroads notification to      car shops.
 person responsible for
 reporting mark after visual
 inspection for presence and
 condition when freight car
 on either side has less than
 80% reflective sheeting of
 the damaged, obscured, or
 missing sheeting.
    --(b) Locomotive record    783 railroads &  2,609 records..  5 minutes......          217.42       14,591.06
     of freight                 freight car
     retroreflective sheeting   owners.
     defects found after
     inspection kept in
     locomotive cab or in
     railroad accessible
     electronic database that
     FRA can access upon
     request.
                                                                                 -------------------------------
        Total \4\............  783 railroads &  36,001           N/A............           3,159         215,017
                                freight car      responses.
                                owners.
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    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 36,001.
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    \3\ The dollar equivalent cost is derived from the 2022 STB Full 
Year Wage A&B data series using the employee group 200: 
(Professional & Administrative), hourly wage rate of $49.10, and 
group 400 (Maintenance of Equipment & Stores). The total burden wage 
rate, (Straight time plus 75%), used in the table is $85.93 ($49.10 
x 1.75 = $85.93), except for sections 224.109(a) and 224.109(b) 
which used $67.11 ($38.35 x 1.75 = $67.11).
    \4\ Totals may not add due to rounding.
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    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 3,159.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour Dollar Cost Equivalent: 
$215,017.
    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. 2023-24198 Filed 11-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P