[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 248 (Monday, December 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84458-84459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28471]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2020-0027-N-36]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its 
implementing regulations, this notice announces that FRA is forwarding 
the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the information collection and its expected burden. On 
September 29, 2020, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period 
for public comment on the ICR.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 27, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed ICR 
should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find the particular ICR by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open

[[Page 84459]]

for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Hodan Wells, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Railroad Safety, Regulatory 
Analysis Division, Federal Railroad Administration, telephone: (202) 
493-0440, email: Hodan.wells@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 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. See 44 U.S.C. 
3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through 1320.12. On September 29, 2020, FRA 
published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register soliciting comment on 
the ICR for which it is now seeking OMB approval. See 85 FR 61085. FRA 
received no comments in response to this notice.
    Before OMB decides whether to approve the proposed collection of 
information, it must provide 30 days for public comment. 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 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.
    Comments are invited on the following ICR regarding: (1) Whether 
the information collection activities are necessary for FRA to properly 
execute its functions, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden of 
the information collection activities, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used to determine the estimates; (3) ways 
for FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
being collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of information 
collection activities on the public, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    The summary below describes the ICR that FRA will submit for OMB 
clearance as the PRA requires:
    Title: Training, Qualification, and Oversight for Safety-Related 
Railroad Employees.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0597.
    Abstract: In 2014, FRA published a final rule establishing minimum 
training standards for all safety-related railroad employees, as 
required by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The final rule 
requires each railroad or contractor that employs one or more safety-
related employees to develop and submit a training program to FRA for 
approval and to designate the minimum training qualifications for each 
occupational category of employee. Additionally, the rule requires most 
employers to conduct periodic oversight of their own employees and 
annual written reviews of their training programs to close performance 
gaps.
    FRA will use the information collected to ensure each employer--
railroad or contractor--conducting operations subject to 49 CFR part 
243 develops, adopts, submits, and complies with a training program for 
each category and subcategory of safety-related railroad employee. Each 
program must have training components identified so that FRA will 
understand how the program works when it reviews the program for 
approval. Further, FRA will review the required training programs to 
ensure they include: Initial, ongoing, and on-the-job criteria; testing 
and skills evaluation measures designed to foster continual compliance 
with Federal standards; and the identification of critical safety 
defects and plans for immediate remedial actions to correct them.
    In response to petitions for reconsideration, FRA extended the 
effective date for developing the required training program under Sec.  
243.101 for each Class I railroad, and each intercity or commuter 
passenger railroad conducting operations with 400,000 or more total 
annual employee work hours to January 1, 2020, and for all remaining 
employers subject to this part to May 1, 2021.
    Type of Request: Extension with change (revised estimates) of a 
currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Respondent Universe: 1,155 railroads/contractors/training 
organizations/learning institutions.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 165,054.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 91,069 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour Dollar Cost Equivalent: 
$7,020,889.
    Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b) and 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), 
FRA informs all interested parties that a respondent is not required to 
respond to, conduct, or sponsor a collection of information that does 
not display a currently valid OMB control number.

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

Brett A. Jortland,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-28471 Filed 12-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


