[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88209-88211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27946]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD


30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of 
Collection: Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements

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 
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 Demurrage Liability Disclosure 
Requirements, as described below.

[[Page 88210]]


DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by 
January 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``Paperwork 
Reduction Act Comments, Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements.'' 
Written comments for this 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 
``Paperwork Reduction Act Comments, Demurrage Liability Disclosure 
Requirements.'' For further information regarding this collection, 
contact Pedro Ramirez at (202) 245-0333 or [email protected]. If 
you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
please call (202) 245-0245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board previously published a notice 
about this collection in the Federal Register (88 FR 65419 (September 
22, 2023)). 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.

Description of Collection

    Title: Demurrage Liability Disclosure Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2140-0021.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension without change.
    Respondents: Freight railroads subject to the Board's jurisdiction.
    Number of Respondents: Approximately 620 (including six Class I 
carriers).
    Estimated Time per Response: One hour for each disclosure.
    Frequency: On occasion. The existing demurrage liability disclosure 
requirement is triggered in two circumstances: (1) when a shipper 
initially arranges with a railroad for transportation of freight 
pursuant to the rail carrier's tariff; or (2) when a rail carrier 
changes the terms of its demurrage tariff.
    Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 1,330.7 
hours. Consistent with the existing, approved information collection, 
Board staff estimates that: (1) six Class I carriers would each take on 
18 new customers each year (108 hours); (2) each of the six Class I 
carriers would update its demurrage tariffs annually (6 hours); (3) 620 
non-Class I carriers (which are already subject to the existing 
collection requirements, but which will not be subject to the new 
requirements) would each take on one new customer a year (620 hours); 
and (4) each of the non-Class I carriers would update its demurrage 
tariffs every three years (206.7 hours annualized). For the requirement 
that Class I carriers must directly bill the shipper for demurrage when 
the shipper and warehouseman agree to the arrangement and so notify the 
rail carrier, Board staff estimates that annually six Class I carriers 
would each receive 65 direct-billing agreements per year at one hour 
per agreement (390 hours).
    The total hourly burdens are also set forth in the table below.

                                            Table--Total Burden Hours
                                                   [Per year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Burden for
                                                   New  customer  Tariff  update     invoicing     Total annual
                   Respondents                        burden           burden        agreement     burden  hours
                                                      (hours)         (hours)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 Class I Carriers..............................             108               6             390             504
620 Non-Class I Carriers........................             620           206.7  ..............           826.7
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             728           212.7             390         1,330.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: There are no other costs 
identified. Any submissions may be submitted electronically.
    Needs and Uses: Demurrage is subject to Board regulation under 49 
U.S.C. 10702, which requires railroads to establish reasonable rates 
and transportation-related rules and practices, and under 49 U.S.C. 
10746, which requires railroads to compute demurrage charges, and 
establish rules related to those charges, in a way that will fulfill 
the national needs related to freight car use and distribution and 
maintenance of an adequate car supply. Demurrage is a charge that 
serves principally as an incentive to prevent undue car detention and 
thereby encourage the efficient use of rail cars in the rail network, 
while also providing compensation to rail carriers for the expense 
incurred when rail cars are unduly detained beyond a specified period 
of time (i.e., ``free time'') for loading and unloading. See Pa. R.R. 
v. Kittaning Iron & Steel Mfg. Co., 253 U.S. 319, 323 (1920) (``The 
purpose of demurrage charges is to promote car efficiency by penalizing 
undue detention of cars.''); 49 CFR 1333.1; see also 49 CFR pt. 1201, 
category 106.
    Under 49 CFR 1333.3, a railroad's ability to charge demurrage 
pursuant to its tariff is conditional on its having given, prior to 
rail car placement, actual notice of the demurrage tariff to the person 
receiving rail cars for loading and unloading. Once a shipper receives 
a notice as to a particular tariff, additional notices are required 
only when the tariff changes materially. The parties rely on the 
information in the demurrage tariffs to avoid demurrage disputes, and 
the Board uses the tariffs

[[Page 88211]]

to adjudicate demurrage disputes that come before it. Class I carriers 
are required to include certain minimum information on or with 
demurrage invoices, take appropriate action to ensure that demurrage 
charges are accurate and warranted, and directly bill the shipper for 
demurrage when the shipper and warehouseman agree to that arrangement 
and so notify the rail carrier. This collection and use of this 
information by the Board enable the Board to meet its statutory duties.
    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.

    Dated: December 15, 2023.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-27946 Filed 12-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P