Intent To Request Approval From OMB of One New Public Collection of Information: Security Program for Hazardous Materials Motor Carriers & Shippers, 70359-70360 [E8-27526]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• Transportation Security Administration

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 225 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70359-70360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27526]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration


Intent To Request Approval From OMB of One New Public Collection 
of Information: Security Program for Hazardous Materials Motor Carriers 
& Shippers

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: 60-Day Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) invites 
public comment on a new information collection requirement abstracted 
below that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
collection involves the submission of security training program 
evaluation forms by hazardous materials (hazmat) motor carriers and 
shippers after participants have received the training.

DATES: Send your comments by January 20, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to Joanna Johnson, 
Communications Branch, Business Management Office, Operational Process 
and Technology, TSA-32, Transportation Security Administration, 601 
South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanna Johnson at the above address, 
or by telephone (571) 227-3651 or facsimile (571) 227-3588.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB control number. The ICR documentation is available 
at https://www.reginfo.gov. Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and 
approval of the following information collection, TSA is soliciting 
comments to--
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

Information Collection Requirement

    TSA's Highway & Motor Carrier Division will be producing a 
voluntary security-related training course for the hazmat motor carrier 
and shipper industry. Participants will be able to choose to attend 
instructor-led training sessions that TSA will conduct at multiple 
sites in the United States, and TSA will advise the industry of the 
availability of the training through trade associations, conferences, 
and stakeholder meetings. Hazmat motor carriers and shippers that are 
registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will 
automatically receive the training via CD-ROM and DVD. Companies may 
also complete the training on-line at the TSA public Web site, https://
www.tsa.gov. The Web site training is available to the public and does 
not require a log-in or password. After completion of the training 
program, participants will have the option to complete a course 
evaluation form to comment on the effectiveness of the training 
program. The participants who choose to complete the training 
evaluation form will submit the form via e-mail to a secure Web 
surveyor tool that is managed by TSA. Participants who attend the 
classroom training sessions will also be asked to complete an 
evaluation form on-site, which will later be entered into the Web 
surveyor tool by TSA personnel. TSA will use this data to measure the 
program's effectiveness at achieving its goal of heightened security 
awareness levels throughout the hazmat motor carrier and shipper 
industry.
    Hazmat motor carriers and shippers that are registered with the DOT 
are eligible to receive the training; there are approximately seventy-
five thousand (75,000) shippers registered.
    Currently, DOT requires awareness and in-depth security training 
for hazmat employees of persons required to have a security plan in 
accordance with subpart I of 49 CFR part 172 concerning the security 
plan and its implementation. See 49 CFR

[[Page 70360]]

172.704(a)(4)(5).\1\ The training CD-ROM and DVD will provide the 
necessary training curriculum and tools to be incorporated into the 
companies' annual security training program. The approximate number of 
hazmat employees who potentially could participate in the training 
program via instructor-led sessions, CD-ROM, DVD, or the TSA public Web 
site could approach approximately one hundred thousand (100,000) 
employees, depending on the level of participation. The training will 
be produced and delivered in a format that will allow companies that 
choose to complete the evaluation to have their employees take the 
training program individually or in a classroom setting and receive a 
certificate for completion of the training program. This will allow 
companies to keep a copy of the employee's training certificate in 
their personnel training files in accordance with 49 CFR 172.704. Since 
security training is already a Federal requirement for the hazmat motor 
carrier and shipper industry, the subject motor carrier or shipper 
companies should only incur small incremental costs associated with 
taking the voluntary training program produced by TSA.
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    \1\ This security training must include company security 
objectives, specific security procedures, employee responsibilities, 
actions to take in the event of a security breach, and the 
organizational security structure.
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Purpose of Data Collection

    As prescribed by the President in Homeland Security Presidential 
Directive 7 (HSPD-7), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is 
tasked with protecting our nation's critical infrastructure and key 
resources (CI/KR). Through the National Infrastructure Protection Plan 
(NIPP), DHS gives guidance and direction as to how the Nation will 
secure its infrastructure. Furthermore, HSPD-7 and the NIPP assigned 
the responsibility for infrastructure security in the transportation 
sector to TSA. To this effect, the NIPP further tasks each sector to 
build security partnerships, set security goals, and measure their 
effectiveness. Through its voluntary Corporate Security Review (CSR) 
Program, TSA's Highway and Motor Carrier Division has conducted 
security reviews of numerous hazmat motor carriers and shippers in 
order to analyze various aspects of each company's security program. 
Through this review process, TSA has determined that improved security 
awareness and in-depth training for hazmat motor carrier and shipper 
company employees would enhance security. To increase the security 
awareness levels across the hazmat motor carrier and shipper 
industries, TSA plans to develop and distribute a security awareness/
in-depth training program and will request voluntary feedback from 
hazmat motor carrier and shipper companies that elect to receive the 
training.
    Hazmat motor carrier and shipper companies can take the training 
via CD-ROM and DVD, during classroom training sessions, or via the TSA 
public Web site. For those taking the classroom training sessions, TSA 
will hand out an evaluation form to collect feedback regarding the 
security training program. Participants can also complete the 
evaluation form on-line after completing the training. TSA will collect 
the forms and evaluate the results. TSA will use the survey results to 
guide TSA on future hazmat motor carrier and shipper transportation 
security initiatives. TSA plans to conduct the data collection over a 
two- to three-year period in order to allow for maximum distribution 
and use of the training program throughout the industry, and for 
participating companies to complete full training cycles.

Description of Data Collection

    TSA will ask participating companies that voluntarily complete the 
Security Awareness Training program via the CD-ROM to log on to a TSA-
managed secure Web site to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the 
training. Participants that complete the training program via the 
classroom sessions will be asked to complete an evaluation form on-site 
after the training is completed. TSA's Highway & Motor Carrier Division 
staff will manually input the data into the Web surveyor tool system.
    As part of the evaluation form, TSA will collect information such 
as employee position, type of company, knowledge of material before and 
after the training, and overall training satisfaction. TSA will not 
collect the respondent's personal information as part of the course 
evaluation form. TSA will use this data to measure the program's 
effectiveness at achieving its goal of heightened security awareness 
levels throughout the hazmat motor carrier and shipper industry.

Use of Results

    The primary use of this information is to allow TSA to assess the 
effectiveness of the training program and training CD-ROM within the 
hazmat motor carrier and shipper industries. The secondary purpose of 
this information is for TSA to obtain, based on individual company 
input, an indication of participation levels throughout the hazmat 
motor carrier and shipper industries. This data will be kept for at 
least one year or long enough to collect a significant sample size 
(percentage) of the hazmat motor carrier and shipper industries to be 
used in identifying additional training needs to enhance the industry's 
security posture.

Frequency

    Most companies administer their security awareness training 
curriculum on an annual or bi-annual cycle. Typically, companies will 
generate quarterly or annual reports on employee training progress. At 
other companies, employees may receive training periodically as needed 
and submit feedback via the evaluation form between one and four times 
per year, which TSA equates to an average frequency for this collection 
of two times per year. Thus, company employees would provide TSA 
feedback approximately once every two years.
    Out of the approximately 75,000 individual hazmat motor carrier and 
shipper companies, TSA estimates that approximately 75 percent of the 
companies that receive the CD-ROM training will incorporate it into 
their training plans. This number can be assumed due to the current DOT 
requirement (49 CFR 172.704) for certain hazmat motor carriers and 
shippers to conduct security awareness and in-depth training for their 
hazmat employees. TSA assumes that 50 percent of those who take the 
training will provide feedback on the training program. TSA estimates 
the average hour burden per response per shipper/carrier company 
employee will be approximately 20 minutes. TSA estimates the total 
annual hour burden will be dependent on the number of company employees 
that participate per motor carrier/shipper company. Therefore, TSA 
estimates that the maximum total annual hour burden will be 
approximately 16,667 hours per year for all motor carrier/shipper 
industry participants [50,000 employees x 20 minutes = 16,667 hours].

    Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on November 13, 2008.
Kurt Guyer,
Acting Program Manager, Business Improvements and Communications, 
Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. E8-27526 Filed 11-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-05-P