[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14556-14557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03954]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Transportation Statistics Bureau

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2017-0010]


Request for Clearance for an Information Collection: Annual Tank 
Car Survey

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Bureau of Transportation Statistics 
(BTS) intention to request that the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approves a 3-year extension of a currently approved information 
collection for the ``Annual Tank Car Survey.''

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
2017-0010 through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. You may also submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID 
Number DOT-OST-2017-0010 to the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT), Dockets Management System (DMS). You may submit your comments by 
mail or in person to the Docket Clerk, Docket Management System, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. Comments should identify the docket 
number as indicated above. Paper comments should be submitted in 
duplicate. The DMS is open for examination and copying, at the above 
address, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your 
written comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard 
with the following statement: ``Comments on

[[Page 14557]]

Docket DOT-OST-2017-0010.'' The Docket Clerk will date stamp the 
postcard prior to returning it to you via the U.S. mail. Please note 
that due to delays in the delivery of U.S. mail to Federal offices in 
Washington, DC, we recommend that persons consider an alternative 
method (the internet, fax, or professional delivery service) to submit 
comments to the docket and ensure their timely receipt at U.S. DOT. You 
may fax your comments to the DMS at (202) 493-2251. Comments can also 
be viewed and/or submitted via the Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please note that anyone is able to electronically search all 
comments received into our docket management system by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may 
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19475-19570) or you may review the 
Privacy Act Statement at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Cloyed, Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and 
Technology, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Room E34-455, Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 981-4498.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Annual Tank Car Survey
    Background: On December 4, 2015, President Barack Obama signed 
legislation entitled ``Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 
2015,'' or the ``FAST Act.'' See Public Law 114-94. The FAST Act 
includes the ``Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Improvement 
Act of 2015'' (see sections 7001 through 7311) and instructs the 
Secretary of Transportation to make specific regulatory amendments to 
the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180), 
including requirements for rail tank car manufacturers to report their 
progress toward modifying rail tank cars used for the transportation of 
Class 3 flammable liquids in accordance with the timeline established 
in section 7304 of the FAST Act.
    This notice is applicable to section 7308(c) of the FAST Act which 
directs the Secretary to conduct an annual survey of tank car shops to 
acquire projections of the number of tank cars to be built or 
manufactured to the new safer specifications. This includes new tank 
cars built to the DOT Specification 117, or equivalent, as well as tank 
cars modified to the DOT Specification 117R. Tank cars will include, 
but may not be limited to, those originally built to Specifications: 
DOT105, DOT109, DOT111, DOT112, DOT114, DOT115, and DOT120.
    Respondents: There are approximately 400 tank car facilities that 
are currently registered or certified to build or modify tank cars. 
However, the majority of these do not have the capacity to modify or 
build to the 117 or 117R Specifications. At most, an estimated 140 tank 
car shops have the capacity to build or modify to these new safety 
standards.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: An estimated 140 facilities 
will provide a response to this request for information on an annual 
basis. It will take approximately 30 minutes to complete, including 
record keeping and reporting. This notice is intended to accurately 
account for the annual burden.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The estimated burden is equal to 70 
annual burden hours (i.e., 140 responses per year x 0.5 hour per 
response). The total burden cost is estimated at $4,765 (i.e., 70 
burden hours x $68.07, which is the per hour wage of $52.36 for a 
manager in Transportation, Storage, and Distribution plus 30% to 
account for benefits).
    Frequency: The survey frequency is prescribed by Section 7308(d) of 
the FAST Act. Specifically, the Secretary is required to conduct the 
survey annually until May 1, 2029 under Section 7308(c).
    Response to comments: BTS published a 60-day notice for public 
comment for this information collection to the Federal Register on 
December 14, 2023 (88 FR 86728). The notice can be found at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/12/14/2023-27497/request-for-clearance-for-an-information-collection-annual-tank-car-survey. One 
comment was received from the National Propane Gas Association 
expressing the agency's support for such a program. No changes are 
planned in response to this comment.
    Public Comments Invited: Interested parties are invited to send 
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, 
including, but not limited to: (1) the necessity and utility of the 
information collection for the proper performance of the functions of 
the DOT; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, clarity and content of the collected information; 
and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the 
quality of the collected information. Comments submitted in response to 
this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on the 22nd of February 2024.
Cha-Chi Fan,
Director, Office of Data Development and Standards, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2024-03954 Filed 2-26-24; 8:45 am]
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