77602 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 217 / Monday, November 13, 2023 / Notices 

1See Public Law 107–71, (115 Stat. 597, Nov. 19, 

2001), codified at 49 U.S.C. 114(d). The TSA 

Administrator’s current authorities under the 

Aviation and Transportation Security Act have been 

delegated to him by the Secretary of Homeland 

Security. Section 403(2) of the Homeland Security 

Act (HSA) of 2002, Public Law 107–296, (116 Stat. 

2315, Nov. 25, 2002), transferred all functions of 

TSA, including those of the Secretary of 

Transportation and the Under Secretary of 

Transportation of Security related to TSA, to the 

Secretary of Homeland Security. Pursuant to DHS 

Delegation Number 7060.2, the Secretary delegated 

to the Assistant Secretary (now referred to as the 

Administrator of TSA), subject to the Secretary’s 

guidance and control, the authority vested in the 

Secretary with respect to TSA, including that in sec. 

403(2) of the HSA. 

2See Executive Order 13416 of Dec. 5, 2006 

(Strengthening Surface Transportation Security) at 

sec. 3(a). 

critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities and 

priorities for CISA. Government officials 

will share sensitive information with 

CSAC members on initiatives and future 

security requirements for assessing 

cyber risks to critical infrastructure. 

Basis for Closure: In accordance with 

section 10(d) of FACA and 5 U.S.C. 

552b(c)(9)(B), The Government in the 

Sunshine Act, it has been determined 

that certain agenda items require 

closure, as the premature disclosure of 

the information that will be discussed 

would be likely to significantly frustrate 

implementation of proposed agency 

actions. 

This agenda item addresses areas of 

CISA’s operations that include critical 

cybersecurity vulnerabilities and 

priorities for CISA. Government officials 

will share sensitive information with 

CSAC members on initiatives and future 

security requirements for assessing 

cyber risks to critical infrastructure. 

As the premature disclosure of the 

information that will be discussed 

would be likely to significantly frustrate 

implementation of proposed agency 

action, this portion of the meeting is 

required to be closed pursuant to 

section 10(d) of FACA and 5 U.S.C. 

552b(c)(9)(B). 

Megan M. Tsuyi, 

Designated Federal Officer, CISA 

Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, 

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 

Agency, Department of Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24929 Filed 11–9–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9P–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Transportation Security Administration 

Intent To Request Revision of Agency 

Information Collection Activity Under 

OMB Review: Baseline Assessment for 

Security Enhancement (BASE) 

Program 

AGENCY: Transportation Security 

Administration, DHS. 

ACTION: 60-Day notice. 

SUMMARY: The Transportation Security 

Administration (TSA) invites public 

comment on one currently approved 

Information Collection Request (ICR), 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) control number 1652–0062 

abstracted below that we will submit to 

OMB for a revision in compliance with 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 

The ICR covers the assessment of 

current security practices in public 

transportation passenger rail (PTPR) and 

highway and motor carrier (HWY) 

industries by way of the Baseline 

Assessment for Security Enhancement 

(BASE) program, which encompasses 

site visits and interviews, and is part of 

the larger domain awareness, 

prevention, and protection program that 

supports the mission of TSA and the 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS). This voluntary collection allows 

TSA to conduct transportation securityrelated assessments during site visits 

with security and operating officials of 

certain surface transportation modes. 

DATES: Send your comments by January 

12, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be emailed 

to TSAPRA@tsa.dhs.gov or delivered to 

the TSA PRA Officer, Information 

Technology, TSA 11, Transportation 

Security Administration, 6595 

Springfield Center Drive, Springfield, 

VA 20598–6011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicole Raymond at the above address, 

or by telephone (571) 227–2526. 

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 will be 

available at https://www.reginfo.gov 

upon its submission to OMB. 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 

OMB Control Number 1652–0062; 

Baseline Assessment for Security 

Enhancement (BASE) Program. Under 

the Aviation and Transportation 

Security Act and delegated authority 

from the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, TSA has broad responsibility 

and authority for ‘‘security in all modes 

of transportation including security 

responsibilities over modes of 

transportation that are exercised by the 

Department of Transportation.’’ 1 TSA is 

also required to ‘‘assess the security of 

each surface transportation mode and 

evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency 

of current Federal Government surface 

transportation security initiatives.’’ 2

TSA developed the BASE program in 

2007, in an effort to engage with surface 

transportation entities to establish a 

‘‘baseline’’ of security and emergency 

response operations. This program was 

initially created for PTPR (including rail 

and bus operations). Based on the 

success of the program, TSA developed 

the HWY BASE program in 2012. The 

HWY BASE applies to trucking, school 

bus contractors, school districts, and 

over-the-road motor coaches. This 

voluntary program enables TSA to 

collect and evaluate physical and 

operational preparedness information 

and critical assets and key point-ofcontact lists. TSA also reviews 

emergency procedures and domain 

awareness training and provides an 

opportunity to share industry best 

practices. 

The BASE program provides TSA 

with current information on adopted 

security-practices within the PTPR and 

HWY modes of the surface 

transportation sector. The information 

collected also allows TSA to 

dynamically adapt programs to the 

changing threat with an understanding 

of the improvements surface 

transportation entities make in their 

security posture. Additionally, the 

relationships these face-to-face contacts 

foster are critical to TSA’s ability to 

reach out to the surface transportation 

entities participating in the BASE 

program. 

In carrying out the voluntary BASE 

program, TSA’s Transportation Security 

Inspectors-Surface (TSIs–S) conduct 

BASE reviews during site visits with 

security and operating officials of PTPR 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 217 / Monday, November 13, 2023 / Notices 77603 

and HWY systems, throughout the U.S. 

The TSIs-S receive and document 

relevant information using a 

standardized checklist. In April 2020 

the Government Accountability Office, 

audit GA–20–404, recommended TSA 

update the BASE cybersecurity 

questions to ensure they reflect key 

practices. As a result, TSA revised the 

collection to reflect the five core 

functions of the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

cybersecurity framework. These core 

functions, and a majority of the 

subcategories, were combined with 

industry best practices into a set of 

additional questions focused on 

cybersecurity to identify vulnerabilities 

and provide support for strengthening 

the cybersecurity baseline for the 

surface transportation sector. In May 

2023, TSA formed a team of surface 

transportation subject matter experts to 

review the 222 questions on the PTPR 

BASE and 52 that were deemed no 

longer relevant or repetitive, were 

removed. 

Advance coordination and planning 

ensures the efficiency of the assessment 

process. The TSIs-S review and analyze 

the stakeholders’ security plan, if 

adopted, and determine if the mitigation 

measures included in the plan are being 

effectively implemented, while 

providing additional resources for 

further security enhancement. In 

addition to examining the security plan 

document, TSIs-S reviews one or more 

assets of the private and/or public 

owner/operator. 

During BASE site visits of PTPR and 

HWY entities, TSIs-S collect 

information and complete a BASE 

checklist from the review of each 

entity’s documents, plans, and 

procedures. They also interview 

appropriate entity personnel and 

conduct system observations prompted 

by questions raised during the 

document review and interview stages. 

TSA conducts the interviews to 

establish and clarify information on 

security measures implemented by the 

entity and to identify security gaps. The 

one-on-one interviews establish a 

relationship that fosters engagement on, 

and implementation of, effective and 

sustained security. 

Without this information, the ability 

for TSA to perform its security mission 

would be severely hindered. Absent this 

program, there would be no consistent 

data about these transportation security 

programs, nor a decentralized database 

TSA could use to benchmark the 

programs. While many PTPR and HWY 

entities have security and emergency 

response plans or protocols in place, the 

BASE provides a consistent approach to 

evaluate the extent to which security 

programs exist and the content of those 

programs. 

The participants in the BASE program 

receive the benefit of a no-cost, 

voluntary, risk-based assessment 

tailored to their operations and the size 

of their organization. These targeted 

assessments provide actionable options 

for consideration to strengthen an 

entities lowest-scoring items. 

Organizations that participate in the 

BASE may qualify to receive grant 

funding to address high-risk security 

areas and also receive additional 

guidance to strengthen their security. 

While TSA has not set a limit on the 

number of BASE program reviews to 

conduct, TSA estimates it will conduct 

approximately 70 PTPR BASE reviews 

and approximately 107 HWY BASE 

reviews on an annual basis. TSA does 

not intend to conduct more than one 

BASE review per public transportation 

passenger rail system in a single year. 

TSA estimates that the hour burden per 

PTPR entity to engage its security and/ 

or operating officials with inspectors in 

the interactive BASE program review 

process is approximately 9 hours. For 

HWY, TSA estimates approximately 1.8 

hours per HWY entity to engage its 

security and/or operating officials with 

inspectors in the interactive BASE 

program review process. Those who 

choose to also participate in the new 

cyber BASE will spend 7.8 hours each, 

and TSA expects there will be eight 

reviews conducted per year. The total 

annual hour burden for the PTPR BASE 

program review is 630 hours, for HWY 

BASE 192.6 hours, and for 

Cybersecurity BASE 62.4 hours, for a 

total annual burden of 885 hours. 

Dated: November 6, 2023. 

Nicole Raymond, 

TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, 

Information Technology. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24858 Filed 11–9–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2023–0196; 

FXES11140400000–234–FF04EF4000] 

Receipt of Incidental Take Permit 

Application and Proposed Habitat 

Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; 

Lake County, FL; Categorical 

Exclusion 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), announce receipt of 

an application from Enterprise Leasing 

Company of Orlando, LLC (Enterprise 

Car Rental and Sales Clermont, 

applicant) for an incidental take permit 

(ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. 

The applicant requests the ITP to take 

the federally listed sand skink (Neoseps 

reynoldsi) incidental to the construction 

of a commercial development in Lake 

County, Florida. We request public 

comment on the application, which 

includes the applicant’s proposed 

habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on 

the Service’s preliminary determination 

that the proposed permitting action may 

be eligible for a categorical exclusion 

pursuant to the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

regulations, the Department of the 

Interior’s (DOI) NEPA regulations, and 

the DOI Departmental Manual. To make 

this preliminary determination, we 

prepared a draft environmental action 

statement and low-effect screening form, 

both of which are also available for 

public review. We invite comment from 

the public and local, State, Tribal, and 

Federal agencies. 

DATES: We must receive your written 

comments on or before December 13, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may obtain copies of the documents 

online in Docket No. FWS–R4–ES– 

2023–0196 at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Submitting Comments: If you wish to 

submit comments on any of the 

documents, you may do so in writing by 

one of the following methods: 

• Online: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2023–0196. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R4– 

ES–2023–0196; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg 

Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Gawera, by U.S. mail (see ADDRESSES), 

by telephone at 904–731–3121, or via 

email at erin_gawera@fws.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 


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