Notice and Request for Comments, 72243-72244 [2014-28542]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices • Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Communications received by January 20, 2015 will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its processes. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 14 FDMS), which can be viewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. See also https:// www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov. Issued in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2014. Ron Hynes, Director, Office of Technical Oversight. [FR Doc. 2014–28518 Filed 12–4–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. DOT–NHTSA–2014–0122] Notice and Request for Comments National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:07 Dec 04, 2014 Jkt 235001 public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections. DATES: Written comments should be submitted by February 3, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. DOT–OST– 200X–XXXX] through one of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251 • Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12– 140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter Culbreath, 202–366–1566, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number: 2127–0682 Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery Type of Review: Renewal of an information collection. Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration’s commitment to improving service delivery. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management. The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 72243 stakeholders on the Agency’s services will be unavailable. The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions: • The collections are voluntary; • The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government; • The collections are noncontroversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies; • Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the near future; • Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained; • Information gathered is intended to be used only internally for general service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency (if released, the agency must indicate the qualitative nature of the information); • Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions; and • Information gathered will yield qualitative information; the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the population of study. Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative information will not be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing potential nonresponse bias, the protocols for data collection, and any testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely to have, such collections may still be E:\FR\FM\05DEN1.SGM 05DEN1 72244 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices eligible for submission for other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative results. As a general matter, information collections will not result in any new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government. Estimated number of Respondents: 162,350. Frequency: Once per request. Number of Responses: 162,350. Estimated Total Annual Burden: 83,191. Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the Department’s performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the Department to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB’s clearance of this information collection. Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48. Kevin Mahoney, Director, Office of Corporate Customer Services. [FR Doc. 2014–28542 Filed 12–4–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–59–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [Docket No. FD 35877] wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Genesee & Wyoming Inc.—Acquisition of Control Exemption (Including Existing Interchange Commitment)— Arkansas Midland Railroad Company, Inc., The Prescott and Northwestern Railroad Company, and Warren & Saline River Railroad Company Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI),1 a publicly traded non-carrier holding 1 Most recently, GWI was authorized to control Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, Inc. (RCP&E), in common control with other carriers in GWI’s corporate family, upon RCP&E’s becoming a Class II carrier. See Genesee & Wyo. Inc.—Continuance in Control Exemption—Rapid City, Pierre & E. R.R., VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:07 Dec 04, 2014 Jkt 235001 company, has filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2), to acquire control of the following Class III rail carriers: Arkansas Midland Railroad Company, Inc. (AKMD), The Prescott and Northwestern Railroad Company (PNW), and Warren & Saline Railroad Company (WSR) (collectively, the Acquired Railroads).2 The Acquired Railroads are currently owned and under the common control of Pinsly Railroad Company (Pinsly).3 GWI has submitted to the Board a redacted, public version of its Stock Purchase Agreement with Pinsly.4 GWI states that: (1) The Acquired Railroads do not connect with any of GWI’s subsidiary railroads; 5 (2) the proposed transaction is not part of a series of anticipated transactions to connect the Acquired Railroads and any of GWI’s subsidiary railroads; and (3) the proposed transaction does not involve a Class I rail carrier. The proposed transaction is therefore exempt from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323 pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2). Through its verified notice of exemption, GWI seeks to acquire all of the issued and outstanding stock of the Acquired Railroads from Pinsly. GWI states that the proposed transaction would allow the Acquired Railroads to take advantage of the administrative, financial, marketing, and operational support that GWI could provide, which would, in turn, promote the ability of the Acquired Railroads to provide safe and efficient service to their shippers. GWI claims that, although the Acquired Railroads do not connect with any of the FD 35800 (STB served Mar. 27, 2014). GWI provides with its verified notice of exemption a map showing the locations of the GWI-controlled railroads. 2 AKMD connects with WSR at Warren, Ark. See Pinsly R.R.—Control Exemption—Warren & Saline River R.R., FD 35293 (STB served Nov. 3, 2009). The Board has previously issued notices of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) where some of the railroads to be acquired connect with each other. See, e.g., SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners— Control Exemption—Patriot Rail (SteelRiver), FD 35622 (STB served May 23, 2012); Patriot Woods R.R.—Acquis. & Operation Exemption— Weyerhaeuser NR Co., Weyerhaeuser Woods R.R. Operating Div., FD 35431 (STB served Nov. 5, 2010) (authorizing two of the railroads later involved in SteelRiver to connect with each other). 3 The Acquired Railroads own and operate rail lines solely within the State of Arkansas. 4 With its verified notice of exemption, GWI filed under seal an unredacted version of its Stock Purchase Agreement and a motion for protective order to allow limited access to that agreement and other materials GWI has filed under seal. That motion is being addressed separately. 5 According to GWI, AKMD and one of GWI’s existing subsidiaries, Little Rock & Western Railway, L.P. (LRWN) both interchange with Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) in the same yard in Little Rock, Ark. GWI states, however, that neither AKMD nor LRWN have the right to use any UP facilities to connect with each other. PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 railroads already controlled by GWI, the newly acquired railroads will expand the presence of GWI’s affiliates in Arkansas. GWI states that no interchange commitment is being imposed as part of this transaction but that one of the Acquired Railroads, AKMD, has an existing lease agreement with UP that includes an interchange commitment.6 GWI notes that this existing commitment is part of AKMD’s lease of several lines from UP 7 and was negotiated as part of the overall economic package in the original lease transactions. Because GWI is acquiring control of AKMD through a stock purchase, GWI states that there will be no effect on AKMD’s operating rights under the UP Lease. The earliest the transaction could be consummated is December 20, 2014, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the exemption was filed). The parties expect to consummate the transaction shortly after the exemption becomes effective, assuming all other conditions to closing have been satisfied by that time. Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption authority to relieve a rail carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of its employees. Because the transaction involves the control of one or more Class III rail carriers and two Class II rail carriers, the transaction is subject to the labor protective requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11326(a) and New York Dock Railway—Control—Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal, 360 I.C.C. 60 (1979). If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not automatically stay the effectiveness of the exemption. Petitions to stay must be filed by December 12, 2014 (at least 6 GWI states that it does not believe that the Board’s interchange commitment disclosure requirements are intended to apply to equity control transactions in which no new interchange commitment is being imposed as part of the transaction. Without waiving that argument, GWI provides, in its verified notice and a confidential appendix, information about the interchange commitment that GWI notes ‘‘would be required’’ under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(4)(i). 7 Under this lease, as supplemented (UP Lease), AKMD operates the North Little Rock Branch in North Little Rock, the Warren Branch between Dermott and Warren, and the Cypress Bend Branch between McGehee and Cypress Bend. See also Ark. Midland R.R.—Lease & Operation Exemption— Union Pac. R.R., FD 33908 (STB served Aug. 23, 2000); Ark. Midland R.R.—Change in Operators Exemption—Line of Union Pac. R.R., FD 34567 (STB served Nov. 17, 2004); and Ark. Midland R.R.—Lease & Operation Exemption—Union Pac. R.R., FD 34714 (STB served Aug. 30, 2005). E:\FR\FM\05DEN1.SGM 05DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72243-72244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28542]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. DOT-NHTSA-2014-0122]


Notice and Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments 
about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval to renew an information collection. Before a Federal 
agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under 
procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before 
seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on 
proposed collections of information, including extensions and 
reinstatement of previously approved collections.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by February 3, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
200X-XXXX] through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter Culbreath, 202-366-1566, Office 
of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0682
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery
    Type of Review: Renewal of an information collection.
    Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a 
means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an 
efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's 
commitment to improving service delivery.
    This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder 
perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of 
issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, 
training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or 
services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and 
actionable communications between the Agency and its customers and 
stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management.
    The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. 
Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or 
maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this 
information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and 
stakeholders on the Agency's services will be unavailable.
    The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary;
     The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government;
     The collections are non-controversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
     Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have 
experience with the program in the near future;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
     Information gathered is intended to be used only 
internally for general service improvement and program management 
purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency (if 
released, the agency must indicate the qualitative nature of the 
information);
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the 
population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any 
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding 
the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely 
to have, such collections may still be

[[Page 72244]]

eligible for submission for other generic mechanisms that are designed 
to yield quantitative results.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated number of Respondents: 162,350.
    Frequency: Once per request.
    Number of Responses: 162,350.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 83,191.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the Department's 
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the 
Department to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

Kevin Mahoney,
Director, Office of Corporate Customer Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-28542 Filed 12-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P

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