Agency Request for Regular Processing of Collection of Information by the Office of Management and Budget, 24775-24778 [2017-11090]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Sunshine Act Meeting; Unified Carrier Registration Plan Board of Directors Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Unified Carrier Registration Plan board of directors meeting. AGENCY: The meeting will be held on June 7, 2017, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon, Mountain Daylight Time. PLACE: The meetings will be open to the public at the Drury Plaza Hotel, 828 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501, and via conference call. Those not attending the meeting in person may call 1–877–422–1931, passcode 2855443940, to listen and participate in the meeting. STATUS: Open to the public. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Unified Carrier Registration Plan Board of Directors (the Board) will continue its work in developing and implementing the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement and to that end, may consider matters properly before the Board. TIME AND DATE: Mr. Avelino Gutierrez, Chair, Unified Carrier Registration Board of Directors at (505) 827–4565. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Issued on: May 24, 2017. Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. [FR Doc. 2017–11179 Filed 5–25–17; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration [Docket No. FRA 2017–0002–N–18] Agency Request for Regular Processing of Collection of Information by the Office of Management and Budget Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, this document provides notice that FRA is submitting an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:59 May 26, 2017 Jkt 241001 collect information on railroads’ implementation of positive train control (PTC) systems on a quarterly form entitled the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165). On June 20, 2016, following the required notice and comment period, including a public meeting with industry stakeholders, OMB approved the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165) for a period of 12 months, expiring June 30, 2017. After OMB’s initial approval, FRA made three minor modifications to Form FRA F 6180.165, as described below. FRA sought public comment on the proposed revisions during a period of 60 days, ending May 15, 2017. FRA requests regular processing and OMB authorization for 3 years to collect the information on revised Form FRA F 6180.165, as identified below, beginning 30 days after publication of this notice. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Railroad Safety, Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS– 21, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6292) or Ms. Kimberly Toone, Office of Information Technology, RAD–20, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6132). These telephone numbers are not toll-free. Comments or questions about any aspect of this ICR should be directed to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: FRA OMB Desk Officer. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Public Participation On March 14, 2017, FRA published a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on proposed revisions to its Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165 or Form). 82 FR 13717. The PRA and its implementing regulations require Federal agencies to provide 60-days’ notice to the public to solicit comment on information collection activities before seeking OMB’s approval, reinstatement, or renewal of those activities. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). The comment period closed on May 15, 2017. FRA did not receive any comments in response to its March 14, 2017 notice. II. Background on the Quarterly PTC Reporting Requirement The Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015 (PTCEI Act) requires FRA to conduct compliance reviews at least annually to ensure each railroad subject PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 24775 to the statutory mandate to implement a positive train control (PTC) system is complying with its Revised PTC Implementation Plan (PTCIP). 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). To enable FRA to meet this statutory mandate, the PTCEI Act requires railroads to provide information to FRA that FRA determines is necessary to adequately conduct such compliance reviews. 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). Under its statutory and regulatory investigative authorities, FRA currently requires, and seeks to continue requiring, each railroad subject to the PTC system mandate to submit Quarterly PTC Progress Reports (Form FRA F 6180.165) on its PTC system implementation progress. See 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2); see also 49 U.S.C. 20107; 49 CFR 236.1009(h); 49 CFR 1.89. Specifically, in addition to the Annual PTC Progress Report (Form FRA F 6180.166) due each March 31 under 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(1), railroads must provide Quarterly PTC Progress Reports covering the preceding three-month period and submit the completed Forms to FRA on the dates in the following table until full PTC system implementation is completed: Coverage period Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 January 1–March 31 ...... April 1–June 30 ............. July 1–September 30 .... October 1–December 31 Due dates for quarterly reports April 30. July 31. October 31. January 31. Each railroad must submit its quarterly progress reports on Form FRA F 6180.165 using FRA’s Secure Information Repository (SIR) at https:// sir.fra.dot.gov. FRA has determined that quarterly reporting is necessary for FRA to effectively monitor industry’s implementation of PTC systems and to meet the statutory mandate to conduct compliance reviews at least annually to ensure each railroad is complying with its Revised PTCIP. See 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). The annual reports (which contain five more sections than the quarterly reports) are due by March 31 each year under the PTCEI Act and retrospectively describe railroads’ PTC system implementation progress for the entire preceding calendar year. The quarterly reports, on the other hand, show FRA individual railroad’s PTC system implementation progress in as close to real time as possible for the current calendar year, enabling FRA to identify railroads not on track to meet the core implementation milestones they set in their Revised PTCIPs. FRA specifically chose quarterly reports in E:\FR\FM\30MYN1.SGM 30MYN1 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES 24776 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Notices lieu of the monthly reports, which OMB previously approved under OMB Control No. 2130–0553 to monitor industry progress implementing PTC systems, to minimize the burden on industry. See 81 FR 28140 (May 9, 2016). The structure of the quarterly report form enables railroads to complete the more comprehensive Annual PTC Progress Reports (Form FRA F 6180.166) in a clear and efficient manner. The frequency of quarterly reporting allows FRA to actively monitor railroads’ implementation progress and identify railroad-specific and industry-wide roadblocks and obstacles to full PTC system implementation and to provide technical assistance early enough for such assistance to be effective. The quarterly reports also enable FRA to determine which railroads are at risk of not meeting the statutory deadline for PTC system implementation and the multiple statutory criteria required to obtain FRA approval of a deadline extension beyond December 31, 2018, but no later than December 31, 2020, for certain non-hardware, operational aspects of PTC system implementation. Moreover, the quarterly reports enable FRA to provide the public and Congress with data-driven status reports on industry’s progress implementing this critical, life-saving technology four times per year. Because of the quarterly reporting requirement, FRA has been able to respond to urgent requests from members of Congress and the White House about railroads’ up-to-date PTC system implementation progress following certain fatal accidents. Congress made it clear in the PTCEI Act and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act that enforcement is FRA’s main oversight tool for ensuring each railroad subject to the PTC system statutory mandate implements a PTC system consistent with its Revised PTCIP and by the new statutory deadline. 49 U.S.C. 20157(e)(1)–(4). FRA needs the quarterly reports to conduct the compliance reviews the PTCEI Act mandates and, when necessary, to initiate well-supported enforcement action against a railroad. In the PTCEI Act, Congress required each railroad to provide detailed implementation information in its Revised PTCIP, including milestones for spectrum acquisition, employee training, and hardware installation, with totals separated by each major hardware VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:59 May 26, 2017 Jkt 241001 category. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(2)(A)(iii). The PTCEI Act requires each railroad to comply with its Revised PTCIP, including its milestones, and FRA is authorized to assess a civil penalty for any failure to meet those milestones. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(2)(D), (e)(2), 49 CFR 1.89. By statute, railroads are required to provide FRA with any information FRA deems necessary to adequately conduct its compliance reviews. See 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). PTC systems are required to be implemented on over 60,000 miles of the 140,000-mile U.S. rail network. And, while FRA will perform random audits of PTC system implementation, FRA inspectors cannot feasibly inspect every mile of the U.S. rail network at different points in time to determine where the hardware of PTC systems, for example, has and has not been installed and to confirm that individual railroads are implementing PTC systems as each stated it would in its statutorilymandated revised PTCIP. See 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(2)(D), (c)(2), (e). Therefore, FRA has reasonably determined that Quarterly PTC Progress Reports are necessary for FRA to perform the Congressionally-mandated compliance reviews. And, indeed, as discussed further below in the proposed changes to the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form, Congress has implicitly agreed with FRA’s determination this form is necessary by requesting that FRA collect additional information. II. Proposed Revisions to the Quarterly PTC Progress Report On June 20, 2016, OMB approved the Quarterly PTC Progress Report (Form FRA F 6180.165) for a period of one year, expiring on June 30, 2017. The current Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form, as approved through June 30, 2017, can be accessed and downloaded in FRA’s eLibrary at: https:// www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L17365. The approved quarterly form took into account the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) written comments on behalf of itself and its member railroads; the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) written comments on behalf of Northeast Illinois Commuter Rail System (Metra), the Utah Transit Authority, the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority; and industry stakeholders’ comments during FRA’s PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 public meeting on April 19, 2016, which included representatives from, and members of, AAR, APTA, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, and several individual railroad representatives. FRA published minutes from the meeting on www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FRA 2016–0002. For a summary of the oral and written comments and FRA’s responses to the comments, please see 81 FR 28140 (May 9, 2016). As FRA described in its March 14, 2017, notice, FRA proposes three minor modifications to the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165, OMB Control No. 2130–0553; OMB Approval Expires June 30, 2017). First, FRA proposes removing a now inapplicable instruction from page 1 of the quarterly form, which stated, * Please note that FRA did not require a Q1 progress report to be submitted in April 2016. For 2016, the Q1 and Q2 reports are both due in the same form on July 31, 2016. FRA delayed the due date for submitting the first 2016 quarterly report to allow time for the normal 60 days of notice and public comment to FRA and additional 30 days of public comment to OMB while it underwent OMB review as the PRA and its concomitant regulations require. Because that due date extension applied only in 2016, FRA proposes removing that note from page 1 of the form and retaining the standard quarterly due dates below: Coverage period Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 January 1–March 31 ...... April 1–June 30 ............. July 1–September 30 .... October 1–December 31 Due dates for quarterly reports April 30. July 31. October 31. January 31. In addition, FRA proposes making the following two changes to Section 1 of the form (Summary Section) to clarify the section and respond to a Congressional request that FRA collect certain additional information: (i) To ensure clarity and consistent interpretations by respondents, FRA proposes adding instructions to the existing Summary Section row entitled, ‘‘Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration,’’ as a footnote. The current Summary Section in the Quarterly PTC Progress Report requires railroads to provide the following information: E:\FR\FM\30MYN1.SGM 30MYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Notices Cumulative quantity completed to date Category 24777 Total quantity required for PTC implementation Locomotives Fully Equipped and PTC Operable. Installation/Track Segments Completed. Radio Towers Fully Installed and Equipped. Employees Trained. Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration. Route Miles in PTC Operation. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES In the Summary Section of the Quarterly PTC Progress Reports railroads have submitted to date, some railroads have improperly listed the same number of miles in the ‘‘Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration’’ and ‘‘Route Miles in PTC Operation’’ fields, under the heading ‘‘Cumulative Quantity Completed To Date.’’ This makes it impossible for FRA to know if the railroad is still conducting PTC testing (i.e., field testing or Revenue Service Demonstration (RSD)) on those route miles or if the railroad is operating the PTC system in revenue service on those route miles. This prevents FRA from compiling data in its database and using it for the statutorily mandated compliance reviews. To clarify the scope of those two rows and simplify the reporting process, FRA proposes adding the following explanatory instructions as a footnote to the row entitled, ‘‘Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration’’: Enter the cumulative number of route miles where PTC technology is currently undergoing field testing or Revenue Service Demonstration. Railroads must only identify in the ‘‘Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration’’ field any route miles that are still currently undergoing PTC field testing or Revenue Service Demonstration (e.g., in a case where FRA granted a railroad provisional revenue service operations authorization for only a portion of its network but the railroad is still conducting field testing or Revenue Service Demonstration elsewhere in its network). Once a railroad has received written authorization from FRA to operate its PTC system in revenue service (through either provisional operations authorization under 49 U.S.C. 20157(h)(2) or PTC System Certification under 49 U.S.C. 20157(h)(1)), the railroad must identify any miles where a PTC system is being operated in revenue service in the ‘‘Route Miles in PTC Operation’’ field. If a railroad is operating the PTC system in revenue service and has completed all field testing and Revenue Service Demonstration, it may write ‘‘Complete’’ in the ‘‘Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration’’ fields. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:59 May 26, 2017 Jkt 241001 (ii) In September 2016, when reviewing data collected in the OMBapproved Quarterly PTC Progress Report (Form FRA F 6180.165), staff from the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation requested that FRA also collect information to directly show each railroad’s progress towards completing the RSD criteria under 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi)–(vii). Specifically, to receive an extension beyond December 31, 2018, but no later than December 31, 2020, for certain non-hardware, operational aspects of PTC system implementation, a railroad must complete each of the statutory prerequisites under 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B), including one prerequisite that differs depending on whether a railroad is or is not a Class I railroad or Amtrak. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi)–(vii). For Class I railroads and Amtrak, one of the statutory prerequisites is that the railroad must have ‘‘implemented a [PTC] system or initiated [RSD] on the majority of territories, such as subdivisions or districts, or route miles’’ the railroad owns or controls that are required to have operations governed by a PTC system. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi). For other railroads (railroads that are not Class I railroads or Amtrak), one of the statutory prerequisites is that the entity must have initiated RSD on at least 1 territory required to have PTC-governed operations, or met any other criteria FRA established. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vii). To be clear, by law, Congress authorizes FRA to establish alternative RSD criteria only for entities that are not Class I railroads or Amtrak. Id. At this time, FRA has established alternative RSD criteria for only one commuter railroad. The Summary Section in the current Quarterly PTC Progress Report, approved through June 30, 2017, asks railroads to report route miles in ‘‘Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration.’’ However, that does not PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 directly indicate whether or not the railroad has satisfied the above criteria because, for example, those route miles might refer to a combination of route miles in field testing and route miles in RSD, and also it does not provide any information about the number of territories where the railroad has initiated RSD and how many territories are required to have operations governed by a PTC system. Similarly, the drop-down menu in Section 4 regarding the overall current status of track segments has a ‘‘Testing’’ option, which provides only an overview of whether that railroad is currently doing either field testing or RSD in the track segment, but does not differentiate between field testing and RSD, as there might be various stages of testing occurring in a particular track segment. Rather than substantially changing the existing Summary Section and Section 4 of the form, and thus requiring railroads to deviate from the procedures and formulas they already have in place for quarterly reporting, FRA proposes simply adding one new row to the Summary Section and leaving the rest of the form and fields unchanged. Specifically, to address the request from Congressional staff, FRA proposes adding a new row in the Summary Section entitled, ‘‘Territories Where Revenue Service Demonstration Has Been Initiated.’’ The table headings, ‘‘Cumulative Quantity Completed To Date’’ and ‘‘Total Quantity Required for PTC Implementation’’ would remain in place in the Summary Section. FRA proposes adding a footnote after the word ‘‘Territories’’ in the new row to define a territory as ‘‘an entire installation/track segment as identified in the railroad’s PTCIP (e.g., a track segment, territory, subdivision, district, etc.),’’ consistent with 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi), 49 CFR part 236, subpart I, and other footnotes in the quarterly form. FRA estimates the additional burden for this new row would be approximately thirty minutes on average for Class I, Class II, large E:\FR\FM\30MYN1.SGM 30MYN1 24778 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Notices passenger, and medium passenger railroads and approximately fifteen minutes on average for Class III, terminal, and small passenger railroads. The burden is low because it is a highlevel question that would require a railroad to state only the number of territories where it has initiated RSD and the number of territories required to have operations governed by a PTC system, both of which are readily known by and available to respondent railroads. Finally, FRA has made one additional formatting change, which reduces the length of the form. FRA removed the final page from the 10-page Appendix B, entitled ‘‘Additional Rows for Installation/Track Segment Progress— Current Status,’’ as that page was not necessary for any of the 41 reporting railroads to complete based on the number of railroads’ track segments. III. Overview of Information Collection The associated collection of information is summarized below. Title: Quarterly Positive Train Control Progress Report Form. OMB Control Number: 2130–0553. Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.165. Affected Public: Businesses. Frequency of Submission: On occasion. Respondent Universe: 41 Railroad Carriers. Reporting Burden: Average time per response (in hours) Respondent universe Total annual responses Form FRA F 6180.165 ................... sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Quarterly PTC progress report 41 Railroads ................................... 164 Reports/Forms ........................ FRA notes that the 21.60-hour estimate is an average for all railroads. FRA estimated the quarterly reporting burden is approximately 40.5 hours for the 11 Class I and large passenger railroads per quarterly form, approximately 27.5 hours for the 11 Class II and medium passenger railroads per quarterly form, and approximately 7.25 hours for the 19 Class III, terminal, and small passenger railroads per quarterly form. Total Estimated Annual Responses for Form FRA F 6180.165: 164. Total Estimated Annual Burden for Form FRA F 6180.165: 3,543 hours. Total Estimated Annual Responses for Entire Information Collection: 147,776. Total Estimated Annual Burden for Entire Information Collection: 3,126,102. Status: Regular Review. For the reasons outlined above, FRA requests regular processing and OMB authorization to collect the information on the revised Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165), 30 days after publication of this notice for a period of 3 years. Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b) and 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, 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). John Seguin, Acting Chief Counsel. [FR Doc. 2017–11090 Filed 5–26–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:59 May 26, 2017 Jkt 241001 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Maritime Administration [Docket No. MARAD–2017–0092] Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel TWANOH; Invitation for Public Comments Maritime Administration. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below. DATES: Submit comments on or before June 29, 2017. ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to docket number MARAD–2017–0092. Written comments may be submitted by hand or by mail to the Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M–30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. You may also send comments electronically via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov. All comments will become part of this docket and will be available for inspection and copying at the above address between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. An electronic version of this document and all documents entered into this docket is available at https://www.regulations.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bianca Carr, U.S. Department of SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 21.60 Total annual burden hours 3,543 Transportation, Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W23–453, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone 202– 366–9309, Email Bianca.carr@dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As described by the applicant the intended service of the vessel TWANOH is: —Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: ‘‘Take up to 6 guests on short excursions on Hood Canal explaining the geographic, history and wildlife of the surrounding area’’ —Geographic Region: ‘‘Washington State’’ The complete application is given in DOT docket MARAD–2017–0092 at https://www.regulations.gov. Interested parties may comment on the effect this action may have on U.S. vessel builders or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.flag vessels. If MARAD determines, in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and MARAD’s regulations at 46 CFR part 388, that the issuance of the waiver will have an unduly adverse effect on a U.S.vessel builder or a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in that business, a waiver will not be granted. Comments should refer to the docket number of this notice and the vessel name in order for MARAD to properly consider the comments. Comments should also state the commenter’s interest in the waiver application, and address the waiver criteria given in § 388.4 of MARAD’s regulations at 46 CFR part 388. Privacy Act In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT/MARAD solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT/MARAD posts these comments, without edit, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice, DOT/ALL– 14 FDMS, accessible through E:\FR\FM\30MYN1.SGM 30MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24775-24778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11090]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA 2017-0002-N-18]

Agency Request for Regular Processing of Collection of
Information by the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, this document provides notice that FRA is
submitting an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to collect information on railroads'
implementation of positive train control (PTC) systems on a quarterly
form entitled the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F
6180.165). On June 20, 2016, following the required notice and comment
period, including a public meeting with industry stakeholders, OMB
approved the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165)
for a period of 12 months, expiring June 30, 2017. After OMB's initial
approval, FRA made three minor modifications to Form FRA F 6180.165, as
described below. FRA sought public comment on the proposed revisions
during a period of 60 days, ending May 15, 2017. FRA requests regular
processing and OMB authorization for 3 years to collect the information
on revised Form FRA F 6180.165, as identified below, beginning 30 days
after publication of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Railroad
Safety, Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, FRA, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-
6292) or Ms. Kimberly Toone, Office of Information Technology, RAD-20,
FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590
(telephone: (202) 493-6132). These telephone numbers are not toll-free.
Comments or questions about any aspect of this ICR should be directed
to OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: FRA OMB
Desk Officer.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

On March 14, 2017, FRA published a notice in the Federal Register
seeking public comment on proposed revisions to its Quarterly PTC
Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165 or Form). 82 FR 13717. The
PRA and its implementing regulations require Federal agencies to
provide 60-days' notice to the public to solicit comment on information
collection activities before seeking OMB's approval, reinstatement, or
renewal of those activities. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1), 1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). The comment period closed on
May 15, 2017. FRA did not receive any comments in response to its March
14, 2017 notice.

II. Background on the Quarterly PTC Reporting Requirement

The Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of
2015 (PTCEI Act) requires FRA to conduct compliance reviews at least
annually to ensure each railroad subject to the statutory mandate to
implement a positive train control (PTC) system is complying with its
Revised PTC Implementation Plan (PTCIP). 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). To
enable FRA to meet this statutory mandate, the PTCEI Act requires
railroads to provide information to FRA that FRA determines is
necessary to adequately conduct such compliance reviews. 49 U.S.C.
20157(c)(2).
Under its statutory and regulatory investigative authorities, FRA
currently requires, and seeks to continue requiring, each railroad
subject to the PTC system mandate to submit Quarterly PTC Progress
Reports (Form FRA F 6180.165) on its PTC system implementation
progress. See 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2); see also 49 U.S.C. 20107; 49 CFR
236.1009(h); 49 CFR 1.89. Specifically, in addition to the Annual PTC
Progress Report (Form FRA F 6180.166) due each March 31 under 49 U.S.C.
20157(c)(1), railroads must provide Quarterly PTC Progress Reports
covering the preceding three-month period and submit the completed
Forms to FRA on the dates in the following table until full PTC system
implementation is completed:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due dates for quarterly
Coverage period reports
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q1 January 1-March 31.................... April 30.
Q2 April 1-June 30....................... July 31.
Q3 July 1-September 30................... October 31.
Q4 October 1-December 31................. January 31.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Each railroad must submit its quarterly progress reports on Form FRA F
6180.165 using FRA's Secure Information Repository (SIR) at https://sir.fra.dot.gov.
FRA has determined that quarterly reporting is necessary for FRA to
effectively monitor industry's implementation of PTC systems and to
meet the statutory mandate to conduct compliance reviews at least
annually to ensure each railroad is complying with its Revised PTCIP.
See 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). The annual reports (which contain five more
sections than the quarterly reports) are due by March 31 each year
under the PTCEI Act and retrospectively describe railroads' PTC system
implementation progress for the entire preceding calendar year. The
quarterly reports, on the other hand, show FRA individual railroad's
PTC system implementation progress in as close to real time as possible
for the current calendar year, enabling FRA to identify railroads not
on track to meet the core implementation milestones they set in their
Revised PTCIPs. FRA specifically chose quarterly reports in

[[Page 24776]]

lieu of the monthly reports, which OMB previously approved under OMB
Control No. 2130-0553 to monitor industry progress implementing PTC
systems, to minimize the burden on industry. See 81 FR 28140 (May 9,
2016). The structure of the quarterly report form enables railroads to
complete the more comprehensive Annual PTC Progress Reports (Form FRA F
6180.166) in a clear and efficient manner. The frequency of quarterly
reporting allows FRA to actively monitor railroads' implementation
progress and identify railroad-specific and industry-wide roadblocks
and obstacles to full PTC system implementation and to provide
technical assistance early enough for such assistance to be effective.
The quarterly reports also enable FRA to determine which railroads are
at risk of not meeting the statutory deadline for PTC system
implementation and the multiple statutory criteria required to obtain
FRA approval of a deadline extension beyond December 31, 2018, but no
later than December 31, 2020, for certain non-hardware, operational
aspects of PTC system implementation. Moreover, the quarterly reports
enable FRA to provide the public and Congress with data-driven status
reports on industry's progress implementing this critical, life-saving
technology four times per year. Because of the quarterly reporting
requirement, FRA has been able to respond to urgent requests from
members of Congress and the White House about railroads' up-to-date PTC
system implementation progress following certain fatal accidents.
Congress made it clear in the PTCEI Act and the Fixing America's
Surface Transportation Act that enforcement is FRA's main oversight
tool for ensuring each railroad subject to the PTC system statutory
mandate implements a PTC system consistent with its Revised PTCIP and
by the new statutory deadline. 49 U.S.C. 20157(e)(1)-(4). FRA needs the
quarterly reports to conduct the compliance reviews the PTCEI Act
mandates and, when necessary, to initiate well-supported enforcement
action against a railroad. In the PTCEI Act, Congress required each
railroad to provide detailed implementation information in its Revised
PTCIP, including milestones for spectrum acquisition, employee
training, and hardware installation, with totals separated by each
major hardware category. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(2)(A)(iii). The PTCEI Act
requires each railroad to comply with its Revised PTCIP, including its
milestones, and FRA is authorized to assess a civil penalty for any
failure to meet those milestones. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(2)(D), (e)(2), 49
CFR 1.89.
By statute, railroads are required to provide FRA with any
information FRA deems necessary to adequately conduct its compliance
reviews. See 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2). PTC systems are required to be
implemented on over 60,000 miles of the 140,000-mile U.S. rail network.
And, while FRA will perform random audits of PTC system implementation,
FRA inspectors cannot feasibly inspect every mile of the U.S. rail
network at different points in time to determine where the hardware of
PTC systems, for example, has and has not been installed and to confirm
that individual railroads are implementing PTC systems as each stated
it would in its statutorily-mandated revised PTCIP. See 49 U.S.C.
20157(a)(2)(D), (c)(2), (e). Therefore, FRA has reasonably determined
that Quarterly PTC Progress Reports are necessary for FRA to perform
the Congressionally-mandated compliance reviews. And, indeed, as
discussed further below in the proposed changes to the Quarterly PTC
Progress Report Form, Congress has implicitly agreed with FRA's
determination this form is necessary by requesting that FRA collect
additional information.

II. Proposed Revisions to the Quarterly PTC Progress Report

On June 20, 2016, OMB approved the Quarterly PTC Progress Report
(Form FRA F 6180.165) for a period of one year, expiring on June 30,
2017. The current Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form, as approved
through June 30, 2017, can be accessed and downloaded in FRA's eLibrary
at: https://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L17365. The approved quarterly
form took into account the Association of American Railroads' (AAR)
written comments on behalf of itself and its member railroads; the
American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) written comments on
behalf of Northeast Illinois Commuter Rail System (Metra), the Utah
Transit Authority, the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District
of Oregon, and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority; and industry
stakeholders' comments during FRA's public meeting on April 19, 2016,
which included representatives from, and members of, AAR, APTA, the
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, and several
individual railroad representatives. FRA published minutes from the
meeting on www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FRA 2016-0002. For a
summary of the oral and written comments and FRA's responses to the
comments, please see 81 FR 28140 (May 9, 2016).
As FRA described in its March 14, 2017, notice, FRA proposes three
minor modifications to the Quarterly PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA
F 6180.165, OMB Control No. 2130-0553; OMB Approval Expires June 30,
2017).
First, FRA proposes removing a now inapplicable instruction from
page 1 of the quarterly form, which stated,

* Please note that FRA did not require a Q1 progress report to
be submitted in April 2016. For 2016, the Q1 and Q2 reports are both
due in the same form on July 31, 2016.

FRA delayed the due date for submitting the first 2016 quarterly report
to allow time for the normal 60 days of notice and public comment to
FRA and additional 30 days of public comment to OMB while it underwent
OMB review as the PRA and its concomitant regulations require. Because
that due date extension applied only in 2016, FRA proposes removing
that note from page 1 of the form and retaining the standard quarterly
due dates below:

In addition, FRA proposes making the following two changes to
Section 1 of the form (Summary Section) to clarify the section and
respond to a Congressional request that FRA collect certain additional
information:
(i) To ensure clarity and consistent interpretations by
respondents, FRA proposes adding instructions to the existing Summary
Section row entitled, ``Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service
Demonstration,'' as a footnote. The current Summary Section in the
Quarterly PTC Progress Report requires railroads to provide the
following information:

[[Page 24777]]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total quantity
Category Cumulative quantity required for PTC
completed to date implementation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Locomotives Fully Equipped and PTC Operable...................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation/Track Segments Completed.........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Towers Fully Installed and Equipped.....................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employees Trained.............................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Route Miles in Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration.......
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Route Miles in PTC Operation..................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Summary Section of the Quarterly PTC Progress Reports
railroads have submitted to date, some railroads have improperly listed
the same number of miles in the ``Route Miles in Testing or Revenue
Service Demonstration'' and ``Route Miles in PTC Operation'' fields,
under the heading ``Cumulative Quantity Completed To Date.'' This makes
it impossible for FRA to know if the railroad is still conducting PTC
testing (i.e., field testing or Revenue Service Demonstration (RSD)) on
those route miles or if the railroad is operating the PTC system in
revenue service on those route miles. This prevents FRA from compiling
data in its database and using it for the statutorily mandated
compliance reviews. To clarify the scope of those two rows and simplify
the reporting process, FRA proposes adding the following explanatory
instructions as a footnote to the row entitled, ``Route Miles in
Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration'':

Enter the cumulative number of route miles where PTC technology
is currently undergoing field testing or Revenue Service
Demonstration. Railroads must only identify in the ``Route Miles in
Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration'' field any route miles
that are still currently undergoing PTC field testing or Revenue
Service Demonstration (e.g., in a case where FRA granted a railroad
provisional revenue service operations authorization for only a
portion of its network but the railroad is still conducting field
testing or Revenue Service Demonstration elsewhere in its network).
Once a railroad has received written authorization from FRA to
operate its PTC system in revenue service (through either
provisional operations authorization under 49 U.S.C. 20157(h)(2) or
PTC System Certification under 49 U.S.C. 20157(h)(1)), the railroad
must identify any miles where a PTC system is being operated in
revenue service in the ``Route Miles in PTC Operation'' field. If a
railroad is operating the PTC system in revenue service and has
completed all field testing and Revenue Service Demonstration, it
may write ``Complete'' in the ``Route Miles in Testing or Revenue
Service Demonstration'' fields.

(ii) In September 2016, when reviewing data collected in the OMB-
approved Quarterly PTC Progress Report (Form FRA F 6180.165), staff
from the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation requested that FRA also collect information to directly
show each railroad's progress towards completing the RSD criteria under
49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi)-(vii). Specifically, to receive an
extension beyond December 31, 2018, but no later than December 31,
2020, for certain non-hardware, operational aspects of PTC system
implementation, a railroad must complete each of the statutory
prerequisites under 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B), including one
prerequisite that differs depending on whether a railroad is or is not
a Class I railroad or Amtrak. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi)-(vii). For
Class I railroads and Amtrak, one of the statutory prerequisites is
that the railroad must have ``implemented a [PTC] system or initiated
[RSD] on the majority of territories, such as subdivisions or
districts, or route miles'' the railroad owns or controls that are
required to have operations governed by a PTC system. 49 U.S.C.
20157(a)(3)(B)(vi). For other railroads (railroads that are not Class I
railroads or Amtrak), one of the statutory prerequisites is that the
entity must have initiated RSD on at least 1 territory required to have
PTC-governed operations, or met any other criteria FRA established. 49
U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vii). To be clear, by law, Congress authorizes
FRA to establish alternative RSD criteria only for entities that are
not Class I railroads or Amtrak. Id. At this time, FRA has established
alternative RSD criteria for only one commuter railroad.
The Summary Section in the current Quarterly PTC Progress Report,
approved through June 30, 2017, asks railroads to report route miles in
``Testing or Revenue Service Demonstration.'' However, that does not
directly indicate whether or not the railroad has satisfied the above
criteria because, for example, those route miles might refer to a
combination of route miles in field testing and route miles in RSD, and
also it does not provide any information about the number of
territories where the railroad has initiated RSD and how many
territories are required to have operations governed by a PTC system.
Similarly, the drop-down menu in Section 4 regarding the overall
current status of track segments has a ``Testing'' option, which
provides only an overview of whether that railroad is currently doing
either field testing or RSD in the track segment, but does not
differentiate between field testing and RSD, as there might be various
stages of testing occurring in a particular track segment.
Rather than substantially changing the existing Summary Section and
Section 4 of the form, and thus requiring railroads to deviate from the
procedures and formulas they already have in place for quarterly
reporting, FRA proposes simply adding one new row to the Summary
Section and leaving the rest of the form and fields unchanged.
Specifically, to address the request from Congressional staff, FRA
proposes adding a new row in the Summary Section entitled,
``Territories Where Revenue Service Demonstration Has Been Initiated.''
The table headings, ``Cumulative Quantity Completed To Date'' and
``Total Quantity Required for PTC Implementation'' would remain in
place in the Summary Section. FRA proposes adding a footnote after the
word ``Territories'' in the new row to define a territory as ``an
entire installation/track segment as identified in the railroad's PTCIP
(e.g., a track segment, territory, subdivision, district, etc.),''
consistent with 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B)(vi), 49 CFR part 236, subpart
I, and other footnotes in the quarterly form. FRA estimates the
additional burden for this new row would be approximately thirty
minutes on average for Class I, Class II, large

[[Page 24778]]

passenger, and medium passenger railroads and approximately fifteen
minutes on average for Class III, terminal, and small passenger
railroads. The burden is low because it is a high-level question that
would require a railroad to state only the number of territories where
it has initiated RSD and the number of territories required to have
operations governed by a PTC system, both of which are readily known by
and available to respondent railroads.
Finally, FRA has made one additional formatting change, which
reduces the length of the form. FRA removed the final page from the 10-
page Appendix B, entitled ``Additional Rows for Installation/Track
Segment Progress--Current Status,'' as that page was not necessary for
any of the 41 reporting railroads to complete based on the number of
railroads' track segments.

III. Overview of Information Collection

The associated collection of information is summarized below.
Title: Quarterly Positive Train Control Progress Report Form.
OMB Control Number: 2130-0553.
Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.165.
Affected Public: Businesses.
Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
Respondent Universe: 41 Railroad Carriers.
Reporting Burden:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average time
Quarterly PTC progress report Respondent universe Total annual per response Total annual
responses (in hours) burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form FRA F 6180.165............... 41 Railroads......... 164 Reports/Forms.... 21.60 3,543
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FRA notes that the 21.60-hour estimate is an average for all
railroads. FRA estimated the quarterly reporting burden is
approximately 40.5 hours for the 11 Class I and large passenger
railroads per quarterly form, approximately 27.5 hours for the 11 Class
II and medium passenger railroads per quarterly form, and approximately
7.25 hours for the 19 Class III, terminal, and small passenger
railroads per quarterly form.
Total Estimated Annual Responses for Form FRA F 6180.165: 164.
Total Estimated Annual Burden for Form FRA F 6180.165: 3,543 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Responses for Entire Information Collection:
147,776.
Total Estimated Annual Burden for Entire Information Collection:
3,126,102.
Status: Regular Review.
For the reasons outlined above, FRA requests regular processing and
OMB authorization to collect the information on the revised Quarterly
PTC Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165), 30 days after
publication of this notice for a period of 3 years.
Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b) and 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, 49 U.S.C. 20157(c)(2).

John Seguin,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-11090 Filed 5-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P

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