[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19176-19177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06944]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2022-0002-N-4]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. 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, FRA seeks approval of the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below. Before submitting this ICR 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is 
soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities 
identified in the ICR.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
May 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed ICR 
should be submitted on regulations.gov to the docket, Docket No. FRA-
2022-0002. All comments received will be posted without change to the 
docket, including any personal information provided. Please refer to 
the assigned OMB control number in any correspondence submitted. FRA 
will summarize comments received in response to this notice in a 
subsequent notice and include them in its information collection 
submission to OMB for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Hodan Wells, Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, at email: [email protected] or 
telephone: (202) 493-0440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, and its 
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to 
provide 60-days' notice to the public to allow comment on information 
collection activities before seeking OMB approval of the activities. 
See 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through 1320.12. Specifically, 
FRA invites interested parties to comment on the following ICR 
regarding: (1) Whether the information collection activities are 
necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, including whether 
the activities 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 
for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection activities on 
the public, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
    FRA believes that soliciting public comment may reduce the 
administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the collection of 
information that Federal regulations mandate. In summary, FRA reasons 
that comments received will advance three objectives: (1) Reduce 
reporting burdens; (2) organize information collection requirements in 
a ``user-friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and 
(3) accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce 
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    The summary below describes the ICR that FRA will submit for OMB 
clearance as the PRA requires:
    Title: Inquiry into Blocked Highway-Rail Grade Crossings throughout 
the United States.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0630.
    Abstract: In 2020, FRA created a dedicated website allowing the 
public and law enforcement personnel to use web-based forms to 
voluntarily submit information about blocked crossings to FRA.\1\ Under 
the currently approved information collection request, users provide 
information regarding the location, date, time, duration, and immediate 
impacts of highway-rail grade crossings blocked by slow-moving or 
stationary trains. FRA uses the data collected to gain a more complete 
picture of where, when, for how long, and what impacts result from 
reported blocked crossing incidents.\2\ Additionally, FRA uses the 
information to respond to congressional inquiries so that congressional 
staff can respond to their constituents. Furthermore, FRA uses the 
information gathered to facilitate meetings, outreach, and other 
solutions for stakeholders to reduce or eliminate blocked crossing 
concerns.
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    \1\ Access to the web-based form used by the public is 
unrestricted. Access to the web-based form used by law enforcement 
personnel is restricted to law enforcement personnel with usernames 
and passwords managed by FRA.
    \2\ The data collection is not designed to provide a 
representative sample or create generalizable statistics. 
Additionally, the data gathered from this collection is not suitable 
for use in budgetary requests or regulatory proposals.
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    Upon accessing these web-based forms, users are notified there are 
no Federal laws or regulations that specifically address the length of 
time a train may occupy a highway-rail grade crossing. Users are also 
notified that information submitted will not be forwarded to a 
railroad, State, or local agency, and will only being used for data 
collection purposes to determine the locations, times, and impacts of 
blocked crossings.
    On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 
2021 (Pub. L. 117-58) ``Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)'' was 
enacted. In addition to mandating that FRA establish an online portal 
and corresponding database to receive information regarding blocked 
highway-rail grade crossings, section 22404 of BIL ``encourages each 
complainant to report the blocked crossing to the relevant railroad.'' 
Therefore, in preparation for this new statutory mandate, FRA proposes 
to modify the existing web-based forms by adding one question, ``have 
you contacted the railroad?'' Otherwise, the rest of the questions on 
the web-based forms will remain the same.\3\
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    \3\ The average time per response will be remain at 3 minutes 
per response since the modification made under BIL requirement is de 
minimis.
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    Currently, there are no Federal laws or regulations that 
specifically address how long a train may occupy a crossing, whether 
stationary or operating at slow speeds. Some States and local 
municipalities have laws that vary in how long trains are permitted to 
occupy crossings.
    There are potential safety concerns with crossings that are blocked 
by trains. For instance, pedestrians may crawl under or through 
stationary trains. Also, emergency response vehicles and first 
responders may be delayed when responding to an incident or 
transporting persons to a hospital. In addition, drivers may take more 
risks, such as driving around lowered gates at

[[Page 19177]]

a crossing or attempting to beat a train through a crossing without 
gates, in order to avoid a lengthy delay if they are aware that trains 
routinely block a crossing for extended periods of time. There are also 
potential economic impacts that affect businesses, such as stores or 
restaurants not being accessible to a customer base for an extended 
period of time. Finally, highway-rail grade crossings that are blocked 
for extended periods of time may create societal nuisances, such as 
roadway congestion, delayed mail service and deliveries, disrupted 
school and work arrival and dismissal, or missed appointments.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Public individuals and law enforcement personnel.
    Form(s): FRA F 6180.175.
    Respondent Universe: Public individuals and law enforcement 
personnel.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
    Reporting Burden:

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                                                                   Average time
                    Form \4\                       Total annual    per response    Total annual     Total cost
                                                     responses       (minutes)     burden hours     equivalent
                                                             (A)             (B)     (C) = A * B  (D) = C * wage
                                                                                                        rate \5\
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General Public via the unrestricted form on the           15,500               3             775         $20,925
 FRA website....................................
Law Enforcement Personnel via the limited access             350               3              18             486
 form on the FRA website........................
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    Total.......................................          15,850             N/A             793          21,411
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    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 15,850.
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    \4\ The current inventory exhibits a total burden of 250 hours 
while the total burden of this notice is 793 hours. The increase in 
burden hours is due to an anticipated increase in the number of 
responses.
    \5\ FRA used an hourly rate of $27 per hour for the value of the 
public's time. FRA obtained this data from the Department of Labor, 
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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    Total Estimated Annual Burden: 793 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hour Dollar Cost Equivalent: $21,411.
    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. 2022-06944 Filed 3-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P


