Notice; Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements: Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review; Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) National Survey

AGENCY:

Transportation Security Administration (TSA), DHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces that TSA has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of information on April 5, 2004, 69 FR 17704.

DATES:

Send your comments by August 26, 2004. A comment to OMB is most effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be faxed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: DHS-TSA Desk Officer, at (202) 395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Conrad Huygen, Office of Information Management Programs, TSA Headquarters, TSA-17, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220; telephone (571) 227-1954; facsimile (571) 227-2906.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Title: Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) National Survey.

Type of Request: New collection.

OMB Control Number: Not yet assigned.

Form(s): TWIC National Survey.

Affected Public: Transportation Site Security Directors or designees.

Abstract: TSA is in the process of evaluating the TWIC Program concept, which, if approved, will provide for a single, uniform credential nationwide for transportation workers who require access to secure transportation areas. In the Technology Evaluation phase, TSA evaluated five card technologies in various types of physical and logical access transactions, and in the Prototype phase, it intends to evaluate a broad range of business processes as they relate to credentialing, identity, and identity management. The information collected for the TWIC National Survey will be used as a means to develop a predictive model of the current access control technology infrastructure at transportation sites across the nation, should the TWIC be approved for implementation. The information collected in the National Survey pertains to the transportation facility and the numbers and categories of transportation workers at the facility, not to the individuals. This information will be used to help determine implementation approaches for the TWIC Program at transportation facilities and modes across the country that differ by type and size. Participation will be voluntary.

Number of Respondents: 300.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 600.

Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $0.

TSA is soliciting comments to—

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology where appropriate.