30 Day Federal Register Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 227 / Monday, November 25, 2013 / Notices

regulation that conflicts with or is
inconsistent with this exemption with
respect to a person operating under the
exemption.
Issued on: November 18, 2013.
William Bronrott,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2013–28205 Filed 11–22–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2013–0002–N–22]

Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces that the Information
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted
below is being forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and comment. The 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
following collections of information was
published on September 16, 2013 (78 FR
56995).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before December 26, 2013.
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. Kimberly Toone,
Office of Information Technology, RAD–
20, Federal Railroad Administration,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202)
493–6132). (These telephone numbers
are not toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), Public Law 104–13, section 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 September 16,
2013, FRA published a 60-day notice in

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the Federal Register soliciting comment
on ICRs that the agency was seeking
OMB approval. 78 FR 56995. FRA
received no comments in response to
the information collection request (ICR)
described in this notice.
Before OMB decides whether to
approve these proposed collections 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 summary below describes the
nature of the information collection
request (ICR) and the expected burden.
The revised request is being submitted
for clearance by OMB as required by the
PRA.
Title: Confidential Close Call
Reporting System Evaluation-Related
Interview Data Collection.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0574.
Type of Request: Extension with
change of a currently approved
collection.
Abstract: In the U.S. railroad industry,
injury rates have been declining over
the last 25 years. Indeed, the industry
incident rate fell from a high of 12.1
incidents per 100 workers per year in
1978 to 3.66 in 1996. As the number of
incidents has decreased, the mix of
causes has also changed toward a higher
proportion of incidents that can be
attributed to human and organizational
factors. This combination of trends—
decrease in overall rates but increasing
proportion of human factors-related
incidents—has left safety managers with
a need to shift tactics in reducing
injuries to even lower rates than they
are now.
In recognition of the need for new
approaches to improving safety, FRA
has instituted the Confidential Close
Call Reporting System (C3RS). The
operating assumption behind C3RS is
that by assuring confidentiality,
employees will report events which, if
dealt with, will decrease the likelihood
of accidents. C3RS, therefore, has both a
confidential reporting component, and a
problem analysis/solution component.

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C3RS is expected to affect safety in two
ways. First, it will lead to problem
solving concerning specific safety
conditions. Second, it will engender an
organizational culture and climate that
supports greater awareness of safety and
a greater cooperative willingness to
improve safety.
If C3RS works as intended, it could
have an important impact on improving
safety and safety culture in the railroad
industry. While C3RS has been
developed and implemented with the
participation of FRA, railroad labor, and
railroad management, there are
legitimate questions about whether it is
being implemented in the most
beneficial way, and whether it will have
its intended effect. Further, even if C3RS
is successful, it will be necessary to
know if it is successful enough to
implement on a wide scale. To address
these important questions, FRA is
implementing a formative evaluation to
guide program development, a
summative evaluation to assess impact,
and a sustainability evaluation to
determine how C3RS can continue after
the test period is over. The evaluation
is needed to provide FRA with guidance
as to how it can improve the program,
and how it might be scaled up
throughout the railroad industry.
Program evaluation is an inherently
data driven activity. Its basic tenet is
that as change is implemented, data can
be collected to track the course and
consequences of the change. Because of
the setting in which C3RS is being
implemented, that data must come from
the railroad employees (labor and
management) who may be affected.
Critical data include beliefs about safety
and issues related to safety, and
opinions/observations about the
operation of C3RS.
The current study is a five-year
demonstration project to improve rail
safety, and is designed to identify safety
issues and propose corrective action
based on voluntary reports of close calls
submitted to the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics. Because of the
innovative nature of this program, FRA
is implementing an evaluation to
determine whether the program is
succeeding, how it can be improved
and, if successful, what is needed to
spread the program throughout the
railroad industry. Interviews to evaluate
the close call reporting system are being
conducted with two groups: (1) Key
stakeholders to the process (e.g., FRA
officials, industry labor, and carrier
management within participating
railroads); and (2) Employees in
participating railroads who are eligible
to submit close call reports to the
Confidential Close Call Reporting

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 227 / Monday, November 25, 2013 / Notices
System. Different questions are
addressed to each of these two groups.
Interviews are semi-structured, with
follow-up questions asked as
appropriate depending on the
respondent’s initial answer.
The confidentiality of the interview
data is protected by the Privacy Act of
1974. FRA fully complies with all laws
pertaining to confidentiality, including
the Privacy Act. Thus, information
obtained by or acquired by FRA’s
contractor, the Volpe Center, from key
stakeholders and railroad employees
will be used strictly for evaluation
purposes. None of the information that
might be identifying will be
disseminated or disclosed in any way.
In addition, the participating railroad
sites involved will require Volpe to
establish a non-disclosure agreement
that prohibits disclosure of company
confidential information without the
carrier’s authorization. Also, the data
are protected under the Department of
Transportation regulation Title 49 CFR
part 9, which is in part concerned with
the Department involvement in
proceedings between private litigants.
According to this statute, if information
is subpoenaed, Volpe and Volpe
contractors cannot ‘‘provide testimony
or produce any material contained in
the files of the Department, or disclose
any information or produce any material
acquired as part of the performance of
that employee’s official duties or
because of that employee’s official duty
status’’ unless authorized by agency
counsel after determining that, in legal
proceedings between private litigants,
such testimony would be in the best
interests of the Department or that of the
United States Government if disclosed.
Finally, the name of those interviewed
will not be requested.
Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.126A;
FRA F 6180.126B.
Affected Public: Railroad Employees
and Key Non-railroad Stakeholders.
Annual Estimated Burden: 110 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 email to OMB 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
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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 November
20, 2013.
Rebecca Pennington,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013–28165 Filed 11–22–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0124 Notice No.
13–20]

Paperless Hazard Communications
Pilot Program
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
PHMSA invited comments on an
information collection under Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Control
No. 2137–0034 entitled, ‘‘Hazardous
Materials Shipping Papers and
Emergency Response Information,’’
pertaining to the Paperless Hazard
Communications Pilot Program. In the
precursor 60-Day Notice (Docket No.
PHMSA–2013–0124, Notice No. 13–7,
Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 139, FR
Doc. 2013–17363, filed July 18, 2013),
PHMSA invited volunteers from
organizations representing fire and other
emergency responders, law
enforcement, and other regulated
entities (i.e., shippers and carriers who
transport hazardous materials (HM) by
air, highway, rail, and water) to
participate in a pilot program to
evaluate the effectiveness of paperless
hazard communications systems and to
comment on and participate in an
information collection activity
associated with the pilot program. This
30-Day Notice acknowledges comments
received regarding the 60-Day Notice
(Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0124, Notice
No. 13–7, Federal Register Vol. 78, No.
139, FR Doc. 2013–17363, filed July 18,

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2013) and provides details on the four
information collection efforts to be
conducted under the pilot program.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
December 26, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Send comments by mail to
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for
DOT–PHMSA, 725 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20503, by fax, 202–
395–5806, or by email, OIRA_
Submission@omb.eop.gov.
We invite commenters to address the
following issues: (1) Whether the
proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of PHMSA, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of
PHMSA’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection; (3)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
A comment to OMB is most effective
if OMB receives it within 30 days of
publication.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number for this notice at the beginning
of the comment. To avoid duplication,
please use only one of these three
methods.
Docket: For access to the dockets to
read background documents or
comments received, go to http://
www.regulations.gov or DOT’s Docket
Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of any written
communications and comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
document (or signing the document, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477) or you may visit http://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-04-11/
pdf/00-8505.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Luciana DiGhionno, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Engineering and
Research Division (PHH–23), Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., East Building, 2nd Floor,
Washington, DC 20590–0001,
Telephone (202) 366–7611. Requests for
a copy of the information collection

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