[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38508-38509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16447]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
Information Collection Activities: Statutory Licensing and
Consolidation Authority
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.
ACTION: 60-day notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C.
3501-3519 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives
notice of its intent to seek from the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) an extension of approval for the information collections required
from those seeking licensing authority under 49 U.S.C. 10901-03 and
consolidation authority under Sec. Sec. 11323-26.
Under these Title 49 provisions, rail carriers and non-carriers are
required to file an application with the Board, or seek an exemption
(through petition or notice) from the full application process under
Sec. 10502, before they may construct, acquire, or operate a line of
railroad; abandon or discontinue operations over a line of railroad; or
consolidate their interests through a merger or common-control
arrangement. The relevant information collections are described in more
detail below.
Comments are requested concerning: The accuracy of the Board's
burden estimates; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on the respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, when appropriate; and whether the collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Board,
including whether the collection has practical utility. Submitted
comments will be summarized and included in the Board's request for OMB
approval.
Description of Collections
Title: Statutory Licensing and Consolidation Authority.
OMB Control Number: 2140-0023.
STB Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without change.
Respondents: Rail carriers and non-carriers seeking statutory
licensing or consolidation authority or an exemption from filing an
application for such authority.
Number of Respondents: 64.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Approximately 40% of the filings were additional filings
submitted by railroads that had already submitted filings during the
time period. Therefore, the number of respondents (64) is
approximately 40% less than the number of filings (106).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequency: On occasion.
Table--Number of Responses in FY 2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of filings
under 49 U.S.C.
Type of filing 10901-03 and
11323-26
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications......................................... 2
Petitions *.......................................... 18
Notices *............................................ 103
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Under Sec. 10502, petitions for exemption and notices of exemption
are permitted in lieu of an application.
Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 4,049
hours (sum total of estimated hours per response x number of responses
for each type of filing).
[[Page 38509]]
Table--Estimated Hours per Response
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of hours
per response
Type of filing under 49 U.S.C.
10901-03 and
11323-26
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications......................................... 524
Petitions *.......................................... 58
Notices *............................................ 19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Under Sec. 10502, petition for exemptions and notices of exemption
are permitted in lieu of an application.
Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost (such as filing fees): None
identified. Filings are submitted electronically to the Board.
Needs and Uses: Under the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended by
the ICC Termination Act of 1995, Public Law 104-88, 109 Stat. 803
(1995), persons seeking to construct, acquire or operate a line of
railroad and railroads seeking to abandon or to discontinue operations
over a line of railroad or, in the case of two or more railroads, to
consolidate their interests through merger or a common-control
arrangement are required to file an application for prior approval and
authority with the Board. See 49 U.S.C. 10901-03 and 11323-26. Under 49
U.S.C. 10502, persons may seek an exemption from many of the
application requirements of Sec. Sec. 10901-03 and 11323-26 by filing
with the Board a petition for exemption or notice of exemption in lieu
of an application. The collection by the Board of these applications,
petitions, and notices enables the Board to meet its statutory duty to
regulate the referenced rail transactions. See Table--Statutory and
Regulatory Provisions below.
Retention Period: Information in these collections is maintained by
Board for 10 years, after which it is transferred to the National
Archives as permanent records.
DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by
September 4, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, Surface Transportation
Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to
[email protected]. When submitting comments, please refer to ``Statutory
Licensing and Consolidation Authority.'' For further information
regarding this collection, contact [email protected] or Chris Oehrle at
(202) 245-0271. [Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) for the
hearing impaired: (800) 877-8339.] Filings made in responses to this
collection are available on the Board's Web site at www.stb.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Sec. Sec. 10901-03 and 11323-26, an
application is required to seek authority under these sections, unless
an applicant receives an exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502. Respondents
seeking such authority from the Board must submit certain information
required under the Board's related regulations. The table below shows
the statutory and regulatory provisions under which the Board requires
the information collections that are the subject of this notice.
Table--Statutory and Regulatory Provisions *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certificate required Statutory provision Regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Construct, Acquire, or Operate 49 U.S.C. 10901.................... 49 CFR Part 1150.
Railroad Lines.
Short Line purchases by Class II and 49 U.S.C. 10902.................... 49 CFR 1150.41-45.
Class III Rail Carriers.
Abandonments and Discontinuances...... 49 U.S.C. 10903.................... 49 CFR Part 1152.
Railroad Acquisitions, Trackage 49 U.S.C. 11323-26................. 49 CFR Part 1180.
Rights, and Leases.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* STB regulations may be viewed on the STB Web site under E-Library > Reference: STB Rules (http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/elibrary/ref_stbrules.html).
Under the PRA, a Federal agency conducting or sponsoring a
collection of information must display a currently valid OMB control
number. A collection of information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C.
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements that persons
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to the agency,
third parties, or the public. Under Sec. 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA,
Federal agencies are required to provide, prior to an agency's
submitting a collection to OMB for approval, a 60-day notice and
comment period through publication in the Federal Register concerning
each proposed collection of information, including each proposed
extension of an existing collection of information.
Dated: June 29, 2015.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-16447 Filed 7-2-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P