Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request, 57404-57406 [E8-23276]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 192 (Thursday, October 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57404-57406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23276]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its 
implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 
hereby announces that it is seeking approval of the following 
information collection activities. Before submitting these information 
collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of 
the activities identified below.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than December 1, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on any or all of the following 
proposed activities by mail to either: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of 
Safety, Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21.1, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Room Number W33-497, 
Washington, DC 20590, or Ms. Nakia Jackson, Office of Information 
Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave., SE., Room Number W34-204, Washington, DC 20590. Commenters 
requesting FRA to acknowledge receipt of their respective comments must 
include a self-addressed stamped postcard stating, ``Comments on OMB 
control number 2130-New.'' Alternatively, comments may be transmitted 
via facsimile to (202) 493-6216 or (202) 493-6170, or via e-mail to Mr. 
Brogan at robert.brogan@dot.gov, or to Ms. Jackson at 
nakia.jackson@dot.gov. Please refer to the assigned OMB control number 
or information collection title in any correspondence submitted. FRA 
will summarize comments received in response to this notice in a 
subsequent notice and include them in its information collection 
submission to OMB for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21.1, Federal Railroad Administration, 
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Room Number W33-497, Washington, DC 20590 
(telephone: (202) 493-6292) or Ms. Nakia Jackson, Office of Information 
Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave., SE., Room Number W34-204, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 
493-6073). (These telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law No. 104-13, Sec.  2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as 
revised at 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 for comment on information collection activities before 
seeking approval by OMB. 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 
1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). Specifically, FRA invites interested 
respondents to comment on the following summary of proposed information 
collection activities regarding (i) whether the information collection 
activities are necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, 
including whether the activities will have practical utility; (ii) 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; (iii) ways for FRA to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and 
(iv) ways for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection 
activities on the public by automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology (e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses). See 
44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). FRA 
believes that soliciting public comment will promote

[[Page 57405]]

its efforts to reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens 
associated with the collection of information mandated by Federal 
regulations. In summary, FRA reasons that comments received will 
advance three objectives: (i) Reduce reporting burdens; (ii) ensure 
that it organizes information collection requirements in a ``user 
friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and (iii) 
accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce 
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    Below is a brief summary of proposed new information collection 
activities that FRA will submit for clearance by OMB as required under 
the PRA:
    Title: Factors for Selection of Railroads for Evaluation of Bridge 
Management Practices.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-New.
    Abstract: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has conducted a 
Railroad Bridge Safety Program at various levels of effort ever since 
the enactment of the Railroad Safety Act of 1970. FRA is authorized 
under that act to issue regulations addressing a wide variety of 
subjects regarding railroad safety, but FRA has found that bridge 
safety has been well served by a non-regulatory policy.
    The resulting Statement of Agency Policy on the Safety of Railroad 
Bridges, published in the Federal Register in 2000, is based on the 
findings of a survey conducted by FRA in 1992 and 1993. That survey 
showed that a large majority of railroads were managing their bridges 
in a manner which promoted the immediate safety of those bridges. FRA 
therefore adopted that Bridge Safety Policy, which incorporates non-
regulatory guidelines. The non-regulatory guidelines of the Bridge 
Safety Policy are promulgated as Appendix C of the Federal Track Safety 
Standards, Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 213.
    Since the initial bridge management survey was completed, FRA has 
continued to conduct evaluations of the bridge management practices of 
the Nation's railroads. Regular, continuing contact has been in place 
between FRA and the larger railroads (Class I and major passenger 
carriers). However, the selection of smaller railroads (Class III short 
lines and smaller Class II regional railroads) has been on an ad hoc 
basis. FRA has based decisions to evaluate individual smaller railroads 
on recommendations from FRA regional staff, complaints from the public, 
and the small number of bridge-related train accidents.
    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2006 and 2007 
conducted a study to evaluate the safety and serviceability of our 
Nation's railroad bridges and tunnels. GAO reported to the Congress on 
that study in August 2007. That report, ``RAILROAD BRIDGES AND 
TUNNELS--Federal Role in Providing Safety Oversight and Freight 
Infrastructure Investment Could Be Better Targeted'' includes the 
following recommendation:

    To enhance the effectiveness of its bridge and tunnel safety 
oversight function, we recommend that the Secretary of 
Transportation direct the Administrator of the Federal Railroad 
Administration to devise a systematic, consistent, risk-based 
methodology for selecting railroads for its bridge safety surveys to 
ensure that it includes railroads that are at higher risk of not 
following the FRA's bridge safety guidelines and of having bridge 
and tunnel safety issues.'' FRA agrees with that recommendation, and 
is implementing it.

    A vital part of that methodology is the development of information 
on which to base the factors by which railroads will be selected for 
surveys and evaluations. The factors developed by FRA, in conjunction 
with the railroads themselves, include such statistics as the length of 
a railroad in miles, the number, types and total length of its bridges, 
its level of traffic, the presence of hazardous material traffic, the 
operation of passenger trains, and the railroad's record of train 
accidents. Several of those factors, particularly regarding the 
railroad's bridge population, are not found in data already held or 
collected by FRA.
    An attempt to characterize the selection factors without 
incorporating that data on a railroad's bridge population would 
seriously compromise the accuracy and usefulness of the information. 
FRA has, therefore, determined that the effectiveness of its bridge 
safety program depends on this data, and has identified two options for 
collecting it. In one case, FRA inspectors could visit each railroad in 
turn, interview the managers of the railroad, and record the 
information presented. In the other case, FRA could request that each 
railroad provide its data to FRA in a convenient format.
    FRA believes that the second option, self-reporting by the 
railroads, is more convenient for the responding universe, and that it 
represents the most efficient use of agency resources. Railroad 
managers will be able to gather the data on their own time schedules, 
within reason, and FRA would not have to devote employee time and 
travel expenses to visit the responding railroads.
    FRA will use the data received in this project to rank individual 
railroads for scheduling bridge program evaluations by FRA's Bridge 
Safety Staff. The data will be analyzed against weighting factors, and 
railroads will be prioritized according to the resulting scores. The 
weighting factors are presently being reviewed by a committee of the 
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA). FRA 
will consider the recommendation of ASLRRA in this regard, and will 
make the weighting factors available to the respondent universe and the 
public as part of this project.
    It should be noted that a high selection ranking of any railroad by 
FRA will not necessarily indicate that the railroad has a bridge safety 
problem. That determination, one way or the other, will only be made by 
FRA during its evaluation of that railroad's bridge management 
practices.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.129.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Respondent Universe: 567 Railroads.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
    Reporting Burden:

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                                                                   Average time
           Form No.               Respondent       Total annual    per response    Total annual    Total annual
                                   universe         responses         (hours)      burden hours     burden cost
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Form FRA F 6180.129..........  567 Railroads...  475 forms......               3           1,425         $57,000
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    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,425 hours.
    Status: Regular Review.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), 
1320.8(b)(3)(vi), 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 unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.


[[Page 57406]]


    Issued in Washington, DC on September 26, 2008.
D.J. Stadtler,
Director, Office of Financial Management, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-23276 Filed 10-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P