30-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval: Class I Railroad Annual Report

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

AGENCY:

Surface Transportation Board.

SUMMARY:

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice of its intent to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of the collection of Class I Railroad Annual Reports, described below. The Board previously published a notice about this collection in the Federal Register on September 12, 2019. That notice allowed for a 60-day public review and comment period. No comments were received.

DATES:

Comments on this information collection should be submitted by December 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be identified as “Paperwork Reduction Act Comments, Surface Transportation Board: Class I Railroad Annual Report.” These comments should be directed to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Michael J. McManus, Surface Transportation Board Desk Officer: by email at oira_submission@omb.eop.gov; by fax at (202) 395-1743; or by mail to Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Please also direct comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to PRA@stb.gov. For further information regarding this collection, contact Pedro Ramirez at (202) 245-0333 or pedro.ramirez@stb.gov. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments are requested concerning: (1) The accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (2) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; (3) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology, when appropriate; and (4) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Board, including whether the collection has practical utility.

Description of Collection

Title: Class I Railroad Annual Report.

OMB Control Number: 2140-0009.

Form Number: R-1.

Type of Review: Extension without change.

Respondents: Class I railroads.

Number of Respondents: Seven.

Estimated Time per Response: No more than 250 hours per response. This estimate includes time spent reviewing instructions; searching existing data sources; gathering and maintaining the data needed; completing and reviewing the collection of information; and converting the data from the carrier's individual accounting system to the Board's Uniform System of Accounts, which ensures that the information will be presented in a consistent format across all reporting railroads. In prior years, the estimate was higher, but many of these functions have become automated and more routine through the respondents' software programming. Thus, the time per response has been reduced, with additional technological efficiencies anticipated in the future.

Frequency of Response: Annual.

Total Annual Hour Burden: No more than 1,750 hours annually.

Total Annual “Non-Hour Burden” Cost: The respondent carriers are required by statute to submit a copy of the annual report, signed under oath. See 49 U.S.C. 11145. A hard copy of the report is mailed to the agency at an estimated cost of $4.00 per respondent, resulting in a total annual non-burden-hour cost of $28.00 for all seven respondents. No other non-hour costs for operation, maintenance, or purchase of services associated with this collection have been identified, as: (a) This collection will not impose start-up costs on respondents; and (b) an additional copy of the report in Excel format is submitted to the agency electronically.

Needs and Uses: Annual reports are required to be filed by Class I railroads under 49 U.S.C. 11145. The reports show operating expenses and operating statistics of the carriers. Operating expenses include costs for right-of-way and structures, equipment, train and yard operations, and general and administrative expenses. Operating statistics include such items as car-miles, revenue-ton-miles, and gross ton-miles. These reports are used by the Board, other Federal agencies, and industry groups to monitor and assess railroad industry growth, financial stability, traffic, and operations, and to identify industry changes that may affect national transportation policy. Information from these reports is also entered into the Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS), which is the Board's general-purpose costing methodology. URCS, which was developed by the Board pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11161, is used as a tool in rail rate proceedings (in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 10707(d)) to calculate the variable costs associated with providing a particular service. The Board also uses information from this collection to more effectively carry out other regulatory responsibilities, including: Acting on railroad requests for authority to engage in Board-regulated financial transactions such as mergers, acquisitions of control, and consolidations, see 49 U.S.C. 11323-24; analyzing the information that the Board obtains through the annual railroad industry waybill sample, see 49 CFR 1244; measuring off-branch costs in railroad abandonment proceedings, in accordance with 49 CFR 1152.32(n); developing the “rail cost adjustment factors,” in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 10708; and conducting investigations and rulemakings.

Under the PRA, a federal agency that conducts or sponsors a collection of information must display a currently valid OMB control number. A collection of information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c), includes agency requirements that persons submit reports, keep records, or provide information to the agency, third parties, or the public. Section 3507(b) of the PRA requires, concurrent with an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for approval, a 30-day notice and comment period through publication in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information.