82 FR 35578 - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection: Annual Tank Car Facility Survey

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 145 (July 31, 2017)

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 BTS to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval for an information collection from tank car facilities to obtain an estimate of tank cars projected to be modified or built to the new safer Department of Transportation (DOT) standards. A summary report of survey findings will be submitted to Congress as well as published by BTS on the BTS Web page.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 145 (Monday, July 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 35578]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16040]



[[Page 35578]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 
(OST-R) Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information 
Collection: Annual Tank Car Facility 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: 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 BTS to request the Office of Management and Budget's 
(OMB's) approval for an information collection from tank car facilities 
to obtain an estimate of tank cars projected to be modified or built to 
the new safer Department of Transportation (DOT) standards. A summary 
report of survey findings will be submitted to Congress as well as 
published by BTS on the BTS Web page.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 30, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clara Reschovsky, (202) 366-2857, Tank 
Car Facility Survey Project Manager, BTS, OST-R, Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Room E34-409, Washington, DC 
20590. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., E.T., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Annual Tank Car Facility Survey.
    Type of Request: Approval for a new information collection.
    Affected Public: There are approximately 140 tank car facilities 
with the capacity to manufacture or retrofit tank cars capable of 
carrying Class 3 flammable liquids nationwide.
    Abstract: Section 7308(c) of the Fixing America's Surface 
Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114-94; the ``FAST Act'') directs the 
Secretary of Transportation to conduct a survey of tank car facilities 
to obtain an estimate of tank cars projected to be modified or built to 
the new safer Department of Transportation (DOT) Specification 117 or 
117R. Over time, this data collection will inform Congress as well as 
the Department of Transportation as to industry's progress in upgrading 
the nation's fleet of rail cars to be safer in the event of an incident 
involving tank cars carrying Class 3 Flammable liquids. BTS intends to 
collect information from tank car retrofitting and manufacturing 
facilities on the planned and projected number of tank cars to be 
retrofitted or manufactured beginning the next calendar year and 
annually thereafter until 2029. Any facility identified with the 
capacity to modify or build new tank cars to the 117 or 117R 
specification, as described in Section 7308(c) of the FAST Act will be 
included in the survey identified in this notice and is requested to 
submit the results to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) no 
later than 60 days upon request. This will be a voluntary data 
collection. Individual responses to the survey will be kept 
confidential and a summary report of aggregate findings will be 
provided to:
    (1) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate; and
    (2) The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives. In addition, this summary report will also be 
published to the BTS Web page.
    Data Confidentiality Provisions: The Annual Tank Car Facility 
Survey may collect confidential business information. The 
confidentiality of these data will be protected under Title V of the E-
Government Act, the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA). In accordance with this legislation, 
individual responses will not be disclosed in any direct or indirect 
manner and only aggregated statistical information will be made 
available through reports.
    Frequency: This survey will be updated every year until 2029.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: The burden per respondent is 
estimated to be an average of 30 minutes. This includes the time 
required to gather records as well as respond to the survey.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: Across the nation 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. It is estimated that, at most, 140 tank car shops 
possess the required capacity to build or modify to these new safer 
requirements. The total annual burden is estimated to be 70 hours (that 
is 30 minutes per respondent for 140 respondents equals 4,200 minutes).
    Response to Comments: A 60-day notice requesting public comment was 
issued in the Federal Register on March 22, 2017 (Volume 82, Number 54; 
pages14799-14800). No comments were received.
    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. Send comments to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: BTS Desk Officer.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on this 25th day of July, 2017.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-16040 Filed 7-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P