Supporting Statement - Emergency Directed Service Regulations (to ROCIS)

2140-00XX
May 2022
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FOR REQUEST OF OMB APPROVAL
UNDER THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT AND 5 C.F.R. § 1320
The Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) requests approval for the information
collections of the Directed Service Regulations.
A. Justification:
1. Need for Information in Collection. In its notice of proposed rule-making, Revisions
to Regulations for Expedited Relief for Service Emergencies, EP 762 (served on Apr. 22, 2022)
(NPRM), the Board proposed an accelerated process that will improve and streamline the
petition process to address the most critical service emergencies and strikes an appropriate
balance between the need to act quickly in such situations and maintaining adequate due process
for the involved carriers. The Board also proposes these collections to afford carriers the
opportunity to provide information on the effects on their networks while maintaining the
accelerated nature of the process. To be effective, the proposed service rules are intended to
provide shippers and railroads new options for dealing with emergency service disruptions.
2. Use of Data Collected. Under the proposed 49 C.F.R. part 1146, the Board will use
the data collected to better and more timely resolve critical service emergencies. This is
particularly important during supply chain disruptions that are hampering the U.S. economy and
driving up costs. The proposed collections expand potential relief, making it easier and faster for
petitioners to seek relief and the Board to more quickly resolve these issues. The new and
amended rules encompass the options for respondents by using the proposed collections,
including (a) a petition for relief (b) a petition to terminate relief, (c) a petition for accelerated
relief, (d) an appeal to entire board, and (e) a stay of relief. These are the steps that provide for
the collection of information under the PRA.
3. Reduction through Improved Technology. The Board expects all respondents to file
any of the proposed petitions, appeals, and stays electronically.
4. Identification of Duplication. No other federal agency collects the information in
these collections, and the information in these collections is not available from any other source.
5. Minimizing Burden for Small Business. None of these collections will have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The collections allow
parties to resolve disruptions to service on an emergency basis, allowing them to resolve these
issues more quickly and efficiently.
6. Consequences if Collection not Conducted or Conducted Less Frequently. Without
these collections, the Board could not handle service disruptions as well, and shippers and some
railroads may not have relief from them in emergency situations.

7. Special Circumstances. No special circumstances apply to this collection.
8. Compliance with 5 C.F.R. § 1320.8. The Board published its proposed rule in the
NPRM (87 Fed. Reg. 25609 (May 2, 2022)), which provided for a 31-day comment period (and
an additional two-week period for reply comments) regarding this collection, with specific
reference to concerns detailed in the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3521 and
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 C.F.R. § 1320.8(d)(3).
9. Payments or Gifts. The Board does not provide any payment or gifts for this
collection.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality. The information in this collection is generally
available to the public as filings on the Board’s website, located at www.stb.gov. However,
some of the information collected may be protected and treated as confidential. At times,
persons filing a complaint before the Board, or responding to a complaint, may wish to file
commercially sensitive information. To protect such information, parties may mark documents
or portions of documents as “confidential” or “highly confidential” and simultaneously file a
motion for a protective order. 49 C.F.R. § 1104.14. Generally, the Board will issue a protective
order (sometimes with modifications), limiting access to confidential pleadings to parties who
demonstrate a need for the information, and adequately ensuring that the documents will be kept
confidential. In such circumstances, a redacted public version of the document will be posted on
the Board’s website in lieu of the document containing confidential information.
11. Sensitive Information. No sensitive information of a personal nature is requested.
12. Estimated Burden Hours. 2,710 hours, as provided in Table – Total Estimated
Annual Burden Hours below (using sum of estimated hours per response x number of annual
responses for each type of filing).
Table – Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours
Type of filing
Petition for Relief
Petition to Terminate Relief
Petition (accelerated relief)
Appeal to Entire Board
Stay of Relief
Total Annual Burden Hours

Hours
per response
140
50
70
50
40

Total
Annual
annual burden
number of filings
hours
10
1,400
2
100
12
840
5
250
3
120
2,710

13. Estimated Total Annual Cost to Respondents. There are no non-hourly burden costs
for this collection. The itemized collections may be filed electronically.
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14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government. As provided in Table – Total
Government Hours/Costs below, we estimate that the maximum cost to the Board of receiving
and reviewing the filings listed would total no more than 95 staff hours (based on 2022 hourly
rates, approximately $6,878.47).
Table – Total Government Hours/Costs
Employee
Estimated #
Estimated # of
Type of filing
GS- or ESof
hours per filing
level
submissions
Petition for Relief
GS-14/15
3.5
10
Petition to Terminate Relief
GS-14/15
3
2
Petition (accelerated relief)
GS-14/15
2.5
12
Appeal to Entire Board
GS-14/15
3
5
Stay of Relief
GS-14/15
3
3
Total Govt Cost of
Collection

Total Govt
hours/Costs
35
6
30
15
9
95 hours

15. Explanation of Program Changes or Adjustments. This ICR is due to the Board
creating and modifying service rules to provide shippers and railroads new options for dealing
with emergency service disruptions that did not exist.
16. Plans for tabulation and publication. The information in this collection that is not
confidential will be posted on the Board’s website, located at www.stb.gov.
17. Display of expiration date for OMB approval. The new expiration date for this
collection will be published in the Federal Register when the collection is approved by OMB.
18. Exceptions to Certification Statement. Not applicable.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
Not applicable.

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