Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 145 /Wednesday, July 29, 1998 / Notices 40581

from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 1

p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Frederick L. Montgomery,

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.

[FR Doc. 98–20216 Filed 7–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA–98–4077]

Notice of Request for Clearance of a

New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

this notice announces the intention of

the FHWA to request the Office of

Management and Budget’s (OMB)

approval of a new information

collection. This information collection

will be used to: (1) Gather information

from motor carriers regarding their

expectations/experience with

compliance reviews conducted by the

FHWA Office of Motor Carriers (OMC);

and (2) provide a baseline to measure

improvements in customer satisfaction.

The information collected from the

survey will help the OMC assess the

usefulness of the compliance review

process, including whether the reviews

are being conducted in a business-like

manner, and what additional services

and information the OMC could

provide.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before September 28, 1998.

ADDRESSES: All signed, written

comments should refer to the docket

number that appears in the heading of

this document and must be submitted to

the Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets,

Room PL–401, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590–0001. All

comments received will be available for

examination at the above address

between 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., e.t.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays. Those desiring notification of

receipt of comments must include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or

postcard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Tony Schafer, (202) 366–2953, Office of

Motor Carriers, Federal Highway

Administration, Department of

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are

from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., e.t., Monday

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Motor Carrier Assessment of

Compliance Reviews.

Background: The mission of the

FHWA’s OMC is to promote safe

transportation of passengers and goods

on the Nation’s highways. In the

performance of its duties, the OMC

conducts periodic compliance reviews

with motor carriers in each State. The

reviews are normally held at the motor

carrier’s principal place of business.

Compliance reviews are investigations

of the carrier’s operation to determine

whether they meet the safety fitness

standards. To meet the safety fitness

standards, a motor carrier must

demonstrate that it has adequate safety

management controls in place which

function effectively to ensure acceptable

compliance with applicable safety

requirements. Upon completion of a

compliance review, FHWA assigns the

carrier either a satisfactory, conditional,

or unsatisfactory rating. A satisfactory

rating means the carrier has established

and is using adequate safety

management controls that meet FHWA’s

safety fitness standards. A conditional

rating means a carrier has adequate

controls that could result in violations

of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Regulations. An unsatisfactory rating

means that the carrier has inadequate

controls that have resulted in violations

of the regulations. Compliance reviews

can result in enforcement actions

against a carrier for violations of safety

regulations. A civil fine is a primary

enforcement tool used by the FHWA to

induce regulatory compliance.

A survey of selected review

participants will provide the

information necessary for the OMC to

assess these compliance reviews so that

ongoing improvements to the

compliance review process can be

accomplished. The information will be

collected on a standardized

questionnaire, via mail or by telephone.

Respondents will be advised of the

purpose for the survey and the

confidentiality of their responses, either

by an accompanying letter or orally by

telephone. The questionnaire will

request respondents to provide

information pertaining to the

compliance review process (i.e.,

notification, purpose and length of the

review). The information will be

collected from motor carriers shortly

after FHWA or State officials complete

a compliance review. It is estimated that

approximately 9,200 compliance

reviews are conducted annually. Of the

9,200 reviews, surveys will be

conducted for approximately 1,500

reviews. The results of the surveys will

be analyzed and presented in a report to

the management of the OMC. This

report will be used for ongoing

improvements to the compliance review

process.

Respondents: The individuals asked

to respond to the survey will be the

motor carrier employee who signed for

receipt of the compliance review.

Estimated Average Burden per

Response: 10 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 250

hours.

Frequency: Collection will occur

following completion of each of the

1,500 reviews which will be identified

for the survey.

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

FHWA; (2) the accuracy of the estimated

burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality,

utility, and clarity 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.

Electronic Availability: An electronic

copy of this document may be

downloaded using a modem and

suitable communications software from

the Federal Register electronic bulletin

board service (telephone number: 202–

512–1661). Internet users may reach the

Federal Register’s WWW site at http://

www.access.gpo.gov/suldocs.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322(a), 329(a),

31133(a); and 49 CFR 1.48.

Issued on: July 23, 1998.

George S. Moore, Jr.,

Associate Administrator for Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–20231 Filed 7–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB–33 (Sub–No. 123X)]

Union Pacific Railroad Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in Butler

County, IA

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP)

has filed a notice of exemption under 49

CFR 1152 Subpart F—Exempt

Abandonments and Discontinuances of

Service and Trackage Rights to abandon