Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2012 / Notices 2129 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

Information Collections; Request for 

Comments 

ACTION: 60-day notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork burdens, and as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3519 (PRA), 

the Surface Transportation Board 

(Board) gives notice of its intent to 

request from the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) approval without 

change of the seven existing collections 

described below. 

Comments are requested concerning 

each collection as to (1) whether the 

particular collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Board, including 

whether the collection has practical 

utility; (2) the accuracy of the Board’s 

burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; and (4) 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. Submitted comments will 

be included and/or summarized in the 

Board’s request for OMB approval. 

DATES: Written comments are due on 

March 13, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to 

Marilyn Levitt, Surface Transportation 

Board, Suite 1260, 395 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20423–0001, or to 

levittm@stb.dot.gov. Comments should 

be identified as ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

Act Comments,’’ and should refer to the 

title and control number of the specific 

collection(s) commented upon. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information or copies of the 

information collection(s) contact Paul 

Aguiar at (202) 245–0323 or aguiarp@

stb.dot.gov. Federal Information Relay 

Service (FIRS) for the hearing impaired: 

(800) 877–8339. 

Subjects: In this notice the Board is 

requesting comments on the following 

information collections: 

Collection Number 1 

Title: Class I Railroad Annual Report. 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0009. 

Form Number: R1. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Respondents: Class I railroads. 

Number of Respondents: Seven. 

Estimated Time per Response: No 

more than 800 hours, based on 

information provided by the railroad 

industry during the 1990s. This estimate 

includes time spent reviewing 

instructions; searching existing data 

sources; gathering and maintaining the 

data needed; completing and reviewing 

the collection of information; and 

converting the data from the carrier’s 

individual accounting system to the 

Board’s Uniform System of Accounts 

(USOA), which ensures that the 

information will be presented in a 

consistent format across all reporting 

railroads, See 49 U.S.C. 11141–43, 

11161–64; 49 CFR 1200–1201. 

Frequency of Response: Annual. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: No more 

than 5,600 hours annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: Annual reports are 

required to be filed by Class I railroads 

under 49 U.S.C. 11145. The reports 

show operating expenses and operating 

statistics of the carriers. Operating 

expenses include costs for right-of-way 

and structures, equipment, train and 

yard operations, and general and 

administrative expenses. Operating 

statistics include such items as carmiles, revenue-ton-miles, and gross tonmiles. The reports are used by the 

Board, other Federal agencies, and 

industry groups to monitor and assess 

railroad industry growth, financial 

stability, traffic, and operations, and to 

identify industry changes that may 

affect national transportation policy. 

Information from this report is also 

entered into the Board’s Uniform Rail 

Costing System (URCS), which is a cost 

measurement methodology. URCS, 

which was developed by the Board 

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11161, is used as 

a tool in rail rate proceedings, in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 10707(d), to 

calculate the variable costs associated 

with providing a particular service. The 

Board also uses this information to carry 

out more effectively other of its 

regulatory responsibilities, including: 

Acting on railroad requests for authority 

to engage in Board-regulated financial 

transactions such as mergers, 

acquisitions of control, and 

consolidations, see 49 U.S.C. 11323– 

11324; analyzing the information that 

the Board obtains through the annual 

railroad industry waybill sample, see 49 

CFR 1244; measuring off-branch costs in 

railroad abandonment proceedings, in 

accordance with 49 CFR 1152.32(n); 

developing the ‘‘rail cost adjustment 

factors,’’ in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

10708; and conducting investigations 

and rulemakings. 

Information from certain schedules 

contained in these reports is compiled 

and published on the Board’s Web site, 

http://www.stb.dot.gov.http://www.stb.

dot.gov./Information in these reports is 

not available from any other source. 

Collection Number 2 

Title: Quarterly Report of Revenues, 

Expenses, and Income—Railroads (Form 

RE&I) . 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0013. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Respondents: Class I railroads. 

Number of Respondents: Seven. 

Estimated Time per Response: 6 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: Quarterly. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: 168 hours 

annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: This collection is a 

report of railroad operating revenues, 

operating expenses and income items; it 

is a profit and loss statement, disclosing 

net railway operating income on a 

quarterly and year-to-date basis for the 

current and prior years. See 49 CFR 

1243.1. The Board uses the information 

in this report to ensure competitive, 

efficient, and safe transportation 

through general oversight programs that 

monitor and forecast the financial and 

operating condition of railroads, and 

through regulation of railroad rate and 

service issues and rail restructuring 

proposals, including railroad mergers, 

consolidations, acquisitions of control, 

and abandonments. Information from 

these reports is used by the Board, other 

Federal agencies, and industry groups to 

monitor and assess industry growth and 

operations, detect changes in carrier 

financial stability, and identify trends 

that may affect the national 

transportation system. Some of the 

information from these reports is 

compiled by the Board in our quarterly 

Selected Earnings Data Report, which is 

published on the Board’s Web site, 

http://www.stb.dot.gov. http://www.stb.

dot.gov./The information contained in 

these reports is not available from any 

other source. 

Collection Number 3 

Title: Quarterly Condensed Balance 

Sheet—Railroads (Form CBS) . 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0014. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Respondents: Class I railroads. 

Number of Respondents: Seven. 

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2130 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2012 / Notices 

Estimated Time per Response: 6 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: Quarterly. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: 168 hours 

annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: This collection 

shows the balance, quarterly and 

cumulative, for the current and prior 

year of the carrier’s assets and liabilities, 

gross capital expenditures, and revenue 

tons carried. See 49 CFR 1243.2. The 

Board uses the information in this 

report to ensure competitive, efficient, 

and safe transportation through general 

oversight programs that monitor and 

forecast the financial and operating 

condition of railroads, and through 

specific regulation of railroad rate and 

service issues and rail restructuring 

proposals, including railroad mergers, 

consolidations, acquisitions of control, 

and abandonments. Information from 

these reports is used by the Board, other 

Federal agencies, and industry groups to 

assess industry growth and operations, 

detect changes in carrier financial 

stability, and identify trends that may 

affect the national transportation 

system. Revenue ton-miles, which are 

reported in these reports, are compiled 

and published by the Board in its 

quarterly Selected Earnings Data Report, 

which is published on the Board’s Web 

site, http://www.stb.dot.gov.http://www.

stb.dot.gov./The information contained 

in these reports is not available from 

any other source. 

Collection Number 4 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0004. 

Title: Report of Railroad Employees, 

Service and Compensation (Wage Forms 

A and B). 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Respondents: Class I railroads. 

Number of Respondents: Seven. 

Estimated Time per Response: No 

more than 30 hours per quarterly report 

and 40 hours per annual summation, 

based on information provided by the 

railroad industry during the 1990s. 

Again, it is likely that the time required 

to collect this information is overstated 

given the advances made in 

computerized data collection and 

processing systems. 

Frequency of Response: Quarterly, 

with an annual summation. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: No more 

than 1120 hours annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: This collection 

shows the number of employees, service 

hours, and compensation, by employee 

group (e.g., executive, professional, 

maintenance-of-way and equipment, 

and transportation), of the reporting 

railroads. See 49 CFR 1245. The 

information is used by the Board to 

forecast labor costs and measure the 

efficiency of the reporting railroads. The 

information is also used by the Board to 

evaluate proposed regulated 

transactions that may impact rail 

employees, including mergers and 

consolidations, acquisitions of control, 

purchases, and abandonments. Other 

Federal agencies and industry groups, 

including the Railroad Retirement 

Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 

Association of American Railroads, use 

the information contained in the reports 

to monitor railroad operations. Certain 

information from these reports is 

compiled and published on the Board’s 

Web site, http://www.stb.dot.gov. The 

information contained in these reports 

is not available from any other source. 

Collection Number 5 

Title: Monthly Report of Number of 

Employees of Class I Railroads (Wage 

Form C) . 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0007. 

Form Number: STB Form 350. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Respondents: Class I railroads. 

Number of Respondents: Seven. 

Estimated Time per Response: 1.25 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: Monthly. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: 105 hours 

annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: This collection 

shows, for each reporting carrier, the 

average number of employees at midmonth in the six job-classification 

groups that encompass all railroad 

employees. See 49 CFR 1246. The 

information is used by the Board to 

forecast labor costs and measure the 

efficiency of the reporting railroads. The 

information is also used by the Board to 

evaluate the impact on rail employees of 

proposed regulated transactions, 

including mergers and consolidations, 

acquisitions of control, purchases, and 

abandonments. Other Federal agencies 

and industry groups, including the 

Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, and Association of 

American Railroads, use the information 

contained in these reports to monitor 

railroad operations. Certain information 

from these reports is compiled and 

published on the Board’s Web site, 

http://www.stb.dot.gov. The information 

contained in these reports is not 

available from any other source. 

Collection Number 6 

Title: Annual Report of Cars Loaded 

and Cars Terminated. 

OMB Control Number: 2140–0011. 

Form Number: Form STB–54. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Number of Respondents: Fewer than 

10. 

Estimated Time per Response: 4 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: Annual. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: 28 hours 

annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: This collection 

reports the number of cars loaded and 

cars terminated on the reporting 

carrier’s line. See 49 CFR 1247. 

Information in this report is entered into 

the Board’s URCS, the uses of which are 

explained under Collection Number 1. 

There is no other source for the 

information contained in this report. 

Collection Number 7 

OMB Control Number: 2140–000. 

Title: Quarterly Report of Freight 

Commodity Statistics (Form QCS). 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change. 

Respondents: Class I railroads. 

Number of Respondents: Fewer than 

10. 

Estimated Time per Response: 217 

hours . 

Frequency of Response: Quarterly, 

with an annual summation. 

Total Annual Hour Burden: 6,076 

hours annually. 

Total Annual ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ 

Cost: No ‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens 

associated with this collection have 

been identified. 

Needs and Uses: This collection, 

which is based on information 

contained in carload waybills used by 

railroads in the ordinary course of 

business, reports car loadings and total 

revenues by commodity code for each 

commodity that moved on the railroad 

during the reporting period. See 49 CFR 

1248. Information in this report is 

entered into the Board’s URCS, the uses 

of which are explained under Collection 

Number 1. There is no other source for 

the information contained in this report. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

PRA, a Federal agency conducting or 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2012 / Notices 2131 

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 

§ 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, Federal 

agencies are required, prior to 

submitting a collection to OMB for 

approval, to provide 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: January 10, 2012. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2012–535 Filed 1–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. FD 35579] 

Watco Holdings, Inc.—Continuance in 

Control Exemption—Birmingham 

Terminal Railway, L.L.C. 

Watco Holdings, Inc. (Watco), a 

noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of 

exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 

1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of 

Birmingham Terminal Railway, L.L.C. 

(BHRR), upon BHRR’s becoming a Class 

III rail carrier. 

This transaction is related to a 

concurrently filed verified notice of 

exemption in Docket No. FD 35578, 

Birmingham Terminal Railway, L.L.C.— 

Acquisition and Operation Exemption— 

Birmingham Southern Railroad 

Company, wherein BHRR seeks Board 

approval to acquire from Birmingham 

Southern Railroad Company and 

operate approximately 75.59 miles of 

rail line, including all sidings and yard 

tracks, in Ensley, East Thomas, 

Bessemer, Fairfield, and Birmingham, 

AL. 

The parties intend to consummate the 

transaction on or shortly after January 

31, 2012. 

Watco is a Kansas corporation which 

currently controls, indirectly, 24 Class 

III railroads and 1 Class II railroad, 

operating in 18 States. Watco also owns, 

indirectly, 100 percent of the issued and 

outstanding stock of BHRR, a Delaware 

limited liability company. 

Watco controls, through stock 

ownership and management, Class III 

railroads South Kansas and Oklahoma 

Railroad, Inc., Palouse River & Coulee 

City Railroad, L.L.C., Timber Rock 

Railroad, L.L.C., Stillwater Central 

Railroad, L.L.C., Eastern Idaho Railroad, 

L.L.C., Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, 

L.L.C., Pennsylvania Southwestern 

Railroad, L.L.C., Great Northwest 

Railroad, L.L.C., Kaw River Railroad, 

L.L.C., Mission Mountain Railroad, 

L.L.C., Mississippi Southern Railroad, 

L.L.C., Yellowstone Valley Railroad, 

L.L.C., Louisiana Southern Railroad, 

L.L.C., Arkansas Southern Railroad, 

L.L.C., Alabama Southern Railroad, 

L.L.C., Vicksburg Southern Railroad, 

L.L.C., Austin Western Railroad, L.L.C., 

Baton Rouge Southern Railroad, L.L.C., 

Pacific Sun Railroad, L.L.C., Grand Elk 

Railroad, Inc., Alabama Warrior 

Railway, L.L.C., Boise Valley Railroad, 

L.L.C., Autauga Northern Railroad, 

L.L.C., Swan Ranch Railroad, L.L.C., 

and Class II railroad Wisconsin & 

Southern Railroad, L.L.C. 

Watco represents that: (1) The rail 

lines to be operated by BHRR do not 

connect with any other railroads in the 

corporate family; (2) the transaction is 

not part of a series of anticipated 

transactions that would connect the rail 

lines with any other railroads in the 

corporate family; and (3) the transaction 

does not involve a Class I rail carrier. 

Therefore, the transaction is exempt 

from the prior approval requirements of 

49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 CFR 

1180.2(d)(2). 

Watco states that the purpose of the 

proposed transaction is to reduce 

overhead expenses, coordinate billing, 

maintenance, mechanical, and 

personnel policies and practices of its 

rail carrier subsidiaries, and thereby 

improve the overall efficiency of rail 

service provided by the railroads in the 

corporate family. 

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 one Class II rail 

carrier, the transaction is subject to the 

labor protective requirements of 49 

U.S.C. 11326(b) and Wisconsin Central 

Ltd.—Acquisition Exemption—Lines of 

Union Pacific Railroad, 2 S.T.B. 218 

(1997). 

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. Stay petitions must be 

filed no later than January 20, 2012 (at 

least 7 days before the exemption 

becomes effective). 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 

35579, must be filed with the Surface 

Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20423–0001. In 

addition, one copy of each pleading 

must be served on Karl Morell, 655 

Fifteenth Street NW., Suite 225, 

Washington, DC 20005. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’ 

Decided: January 10, 2012. 

By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Raina S. White, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2012–565 Filed 1–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

January 10, 2012. 

The Department of the Treasury will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13, on or after the 

date of publication of this notice. 

DATES: Comments should be received on 

or before February 13, 2012 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding 

the burden estimate, or any other aspect 

of the information collection, including 

suggestion for reducing the burden, to 

(1) Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for 

Treasury, New Executive Office 

Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 

20503, or email at 

OIRA_Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV and 

(2) Treasury PRA Clearance Officer, 

1750 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 

11020, Washington, DC 20220, or online at www.PRAComment.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Copies of the submission(s) may be 

obtained by calling (202) 927–5331, 

email at PRA@treasury.gov, or the entire 

information collection request maybe 

found at www.reginfo.gov. 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

OMB Number: 1545–0127. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change of a currently approved 

collection. 

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