Document ID: FRA-2008-0145-0001
Agency: fra
Document Type: Rule
Title: Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Posted Date: 2008-12-10T05:00Z

[Federal Register: December 10, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 238)]
[Notices]               
[Page 75167-75168]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10de08-112]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

 
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. Each 
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the collection of information listed below was 
published on October 2, 2008 (See 73 FR 57404).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 9, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Ave., SE., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 
(202) 493-6292), or Ms. Nakia Jackson, Office of Information 
Technology, RAD-20, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave., SE., Mail Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-
6073). (These telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law No. 104-13, Sec.  2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as 
revised at 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 
CFR Part 1320, require Federal agencies to issue two notices seeking 
public comment on information collection activities before OMB may 
approve paperwork packages. 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 
1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On October 2, 2008, FRA published a 60-day 
notice in the Federal Register soliciting comment on ICRs that the 
agency was seeking OMB approval. 73 FR 57404. FRA received one letter 
in response to this notice.
    The letter came from Mr. Freddie Simpson, President of the 
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED). The BMWED 
is a labor organization representing approximately 35,000 railroad 
workers who build, maintain, inspect, and repair railroad tracks, 
bridges, and related railroad infrastructure throughout the United 
States. In his comments, Mr. Simpson noted the following:

    BMWED is a charter member of the Rail Safety Advisory Committee 
(RSAC) and a voting member of the RSAC Railroad Bridge Working Group 
(RBWG). The RBWG is tasked by FRA to ``report to the Federal 
Railroad Administration on the current state of Railroad bridge 
safety management, updating the findings and conclusions of the 1993 
Summary Report of the FRA Railroad Bridge Safety Survey, including 
recommendations for further action.''
    BMWED believes the information collection activities outlined in 
the OMB Control Number 2130--New are necessary for FRA and RBWG to 
properly execute its functions. BMWED also believes the information 
collection activities will have practical utility in assessing the 
current state of railroad bridge safety management and that the 
anticipated surveys and evaluations of selected railroad bridge 
management programs is vital to such assessment. Finally, BMWED 
believes FRA's estimates of the burden of such information 
collection activities are reasonable, sound, and minimally 
burdensome.

    The information to be collected and weighting factors to be applied 
thereupon are presently being reviewed by the American Short Line and 
Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) Bridge Committee. This committee 
is composed of the chief bridge engineers from the seven Class I 
railroads and Amtrak, representatives of Class II regional and Class 
III shot line railroads, consulting engineers, and industry suppliers. 
FRA will consider the recommendations of the ASLRRA Bridge Committee in 
this regard.
    Before OMB decides whether to approve this proposed collection of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 44 U.S.C. 
3507(b); 5 CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires OMB to approve or 
disapprove paperwork packages between 30 and 60 days after the 30 day 
notice is published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR 1320.12(d); see also 
60 FR 44978, 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 day notice 
informs the regulated community to file relevant comments and affords 
the agency adequate time to digest public comments before it renders a 
decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 
submit their respective comments to OMB within 30 days of publication 
to best ensure having their full effect. 5 CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 
FR 44983, Aug. 29, 1995.
    The summaries below describe the nature of the information 
collection requirements (ICRs) and the expected burden. The proposed 
requirements are being submitted for clearance by OMB as required by 
the PRA.
    Title: Factors for Selection of Railroads for Evaluation of Bridge 
Management Practices.
    OMB Control Number: 2130--New.
    Type of Request: Regular approval of a proposed collection of 
information.
    Affected Public: Railroads.
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.129.
    Abstract: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has conducted a 
Railroad Bridge Safety Program at various levels of effort ever since 
the enactment of the Railroad Safety Act of

[[Page 75168]]

1970. FRA is authorized under that act to issue regulations addressing 
a wide variety of subjects regarding railroad safety, but FRA has found 
that bridge safety has been well served by a non-regulatory policy.
    The resulting Statement of Agency Policy on the Safety of Railroad 
Bridges, published in the Federal Register in 2000, is based on the 
findings of a survey conducted by FRA in 1992 and 1993. That survey 
showed that a large majority of railroads were managing their bridges 
in a manner which promoted the immediate safety of those bridges. FRA 
therefore adopted that Bridge Safety Policy, which incorporates non-
regulatory guidelines. The non-regulatory guidelines of the Bridge 
Safety Policy are promulgated as Appendix C of the Federal Track Safety 
Standards, Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 213.
    Since the initial bridge management survey was completed, FRA has 
continued to conduct evaluations of the bridge management practices of 
the Nation's railroads. Regular, continuing contact has been in place 
between FRA and the larger railroads (Class I and major passenger 
carriers). However, the selection of smaller railroads (Class III short 
lines and smaller Class II regional railroads) has been on an ad hoc 
basis. FRA has based decisions to evaluate individual smaller railroads 
on recommendations from FRA regional staff, complaints from the public, 
and the small number of bridge-related train accidents.
    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2006 and 2007 
conducted a study to evaluate the safety and serviceability of our 
Nation's railroad bridges and tunnels. GAO reported to the Congress on 
that study in August 2007. That report, ``RAILROAD BRIDGES AND 
TUNNELS--Federal Role in Providing Safety Oversight and Freight 
Infrastructure Investment Could Be Better Targeted'' includes the 
following recommendation:

    To enhance the effectiveness of its bridge and tunnel safety 
oversight function, we recommend that the Secretary of 
Transportation direct the Administrator of the Federal Railroad 
Administration to devise a systematic, consistent, risk-based 
methodology for selecting railroads for its bridge safety surveys to 
ensure that it includes railroads that are at higher risk of not 
following the FRA's bridge safety guidelines and of having bridge 
and tunnel safety issues.

FRA agrees with that recommendation, and is implementing it.
    A vital part of that methodology is the development of information 
on which to base the factors by which railroads will be selected for 
surveys and evaluations. The factors developed by FRA, in conjunction 
with the railroads themselves, include such statistics as the length of 
a railroad in miles, the number, types and total length of its bridges, 
its level of traffic, the presence of hazardous material traffic, the 
operation of passenger trains, and the railroad's record of train 
accidents. Several of those factors, particularly regarding the 
railroad's bridge population, are not found in data already held or 
collected by FRA.
    An attempt to characterize the selection factors without 
incorporating that data on a railroad's bridge population would 
seriously compromise the accuracy and usefulness of the information. 
FRA has, therefore, determined that the effectiveness of its bridge 
safety program depends on this data, and has identified two options for 
collecting it. In one case, FRA inspectors could visit each railroad in 
turn, interview the managers of the railroad, and record the 
information presented. In the other case, FRA could request that each 
railroad provide its data to FRA in a convenient format.
    FRA believes that the second option, self-reporting by the 
railroads, is more convenient for the responding universe, and that it 
represents the most efficient use of agency resources. Railroad 
managers will be able to gather the data on their own time schedules, 
within reason, and FRA would not have to devote employee time and 
travel expenses to visit the responding railroads.
    FRA will use the data received in this project to rank individual 
railroads for scheduling bridge program evaluations by FRA's Bridge 
Safety Staff. The data will be analyzed against weighting factors, and 
railroads will be prioritized according to the resulting scores. The 
weighting factors are presently being reviewed by a committee of the 
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA). FRA 
will consider the recommendation of ASLRRA in this regard, and will 
make the weighting factors available to the respondent universe and the 
public as part of this project.
    It should be noted that a high selection ranking of any railroad by 
FRA will not necessarily indicate that the railroad has a bridge safety 
problem. That determination, one way or the other, will only be made by 
FRA during its evaluation of that railroad's bridge management 
practices.
    Annual Estimated Burden: 1,500 hours.
    Addressee: Send comments regarding these information collections to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503; 
Attention: FRA Desk Officer. Comments may also be sent via e-mail to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office 
of Management and Budget at the following address: oira_
submissions@omb.eop.gov.
    Comments are invited on the following: Whether the proposed 
collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of FRA, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden of the 
proposed information collections; ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collections of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 3, 2008.
Martin J. Eble,
Acting Director, Office of Financial Management, Federal Railroad 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-29036 Filed 12-9-08; 8:45 am]

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