[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49322-49323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19573]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2010-0005-N-16]
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs)
abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of
the information collection and their expected burden. The Federal
Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the
following collections of information was published on May 28, 2013.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 12, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Safety,
Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 25,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6292), or Ms. Kimberly
Toone, Office of Information Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 35,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6132). (These telephone
numbers are not toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
Public Law 104-13, Section 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 issue two notices seeking public
comment on information collection activities before OMB may approve
paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 1320.8(d)(1),
1320.12. On May 28, 2013, FRA published a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register soliciting comment on this ICR that the agency was seeking OMB
approval. 78 FR 32005. FRA received no comments in response to this
notice.
Before OMB decides whether to approve these proposed collections of
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C.
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
The summary below describes the nature of the information
collection requirements (ICRs) and the expected burden for the ICRs
that will be submitted for clearance by OMB as required by the PRA.
Title: Notice of Funding Availability and Solicitation of
Applications for Grants under the Railroad Safety Technology Grant
Program.
OMB Control Number: 2130-0587.
Type of Request: Regular Approval of a Currently Approved
Information Collection.
Affected Public: 1,525 Railroads/Vendors/Universities.
Abstract: The Rail Safety Technology Program is a program
authorized under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) (Pub.
L. 110-432; October 16, 2008). The program was directed by Congress and
passed into law in the aftermath of a series of major rail accidents
that culminated in an accident at Chatsworth, California, in 2008.
Twenty-five people were killed and 135 people were injured in the
Chatsworth accident. This event turned the Nation's attention to rail
safety and the possibility that new technologies, such as PTC, could
prevent such accidents in the future. The RSIA ordered installation of
PTC by all Class I
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railroads on any of their mainlines carrying poisonous inhalation
hazard (PIH) materials and by all passenger and commuter railroads on
their main lines not later than December 31, 2015.
As part of the RSIA, Congress originally provided $50 million to
FRA to award, in one or more grants, to eligible projects by passenger
and freight rail carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local
Governments. Presently, there is $550,000 remaining of the original
funds that FRA plans to fund two projects with. Funds will be awarded
to projects that have a public benefit of improved railroad safety and
efficiency, with priority given to projects that make PTC technologies
interoperable between railroad systems; projects that accelerate the
deployment of PTC technology on high-risk corridors, such as those that
have high volumes of hazardous material shipments; and for projects
over which commuter or passenger trains operate, or that benefit both
passenger and freight safety and efficiency.
Funds provided under this grant program may constitute a maximum of
80 percent of the total cost of a selected project, with a minimum of
20 percent of costs funded from other sources. The funding provided
under these grants will be made available to grantees on a
reimbursement basis. FRA anticipates awarding grants to two eligible
participants. Funding made available through grants provided under this
program, together with funding from other sources that is committed by
a grantee as part of a grant agreement, must be sufficient to complete
the funded project and achieve the anticipated technology development.
Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.146; SF-269; SF-270.
Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 5,337 hours.
OMB Control Number: 2130-0589.
Abstract: Section 202 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) of
2008 required the Secretary of Transportation (delegated to the Federal
Railroad Administrator by 49 CFR 1.49) to identify the 10 States that
have had the most-highway-rail grade crossing collisions, on average,
over the past three years, and to require those States to develop State
highway-rail grade crossing action plans, within a reasonable period of
time, as determined by the Secretary. Section 202 of the law further
provided that these plans must identify specific solutions for
improving safety at crossings, including highway-rail grade crossing
closures or grade separations, and must focus on crossings that have
experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk for such accidents.
Section 202 also provided the following: The Secretary will provide
assistance to the States in developing and carrying out such plans, as
appropriate; the plans may be coordinated with other State or Federal
planning requirements; the plans will cover a period of time determined
to be appropriate by the Secretary; and the Secretary may condition the
awarding of any grants under 49 U.S.C. 20158, 20167, or 22501, to a
State identified under this section, on the development of such State's
plan.
Lastly, Section 202 provided a review and approval process under
which, not later than 60 days after the Secretary receives such a State
action plan, the Secretary must review and either approve or disapprove
it. In the event that the proposed plan is disapproved, Section 202
indicates that the Secretary must notify the affected State as to the
specific areas in which the proposed plan is deficient, and the State
must correct all deficiencies within 30 days following receipt of
written notice from the Secretary.
FRA uses the collection of information to ensure that States meet
the Congressional mandate and devise and implement suitable plans to
reduce/eliminate troublingly high numbers of highway-rail grade
collisions in their States. FRA reviews grade these crossing action
plans and grade crossing action plan revisions to ensure that these
plans include the following: (1) Identify specific solutions for
improving safety at highway-rail grade crossings, including highway-
rail grade crossing closures or grade separations, (2) Focus on
crossings that have experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk
for such accidents, and (3) Cover a five-year period of time.
Form Number(s): N/A.
Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 40 hours.
Addressee: Send comments regarding this information collection to
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street NW., Washington, DC 20503,
Attention: FRA Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via email to OMB
at the following address: [email protected].
Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will
have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of
the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 7, 2013.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-19573 Filed 8-12-13; 8:45 am]
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