30-day FR Notice

39700

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 134 / Thursday, July 13, 2006 / Notices

reports*30 minutes/60 = 175 hours).
Reports are submitted when there is a
qualifying event, i.e., a close call occurs
within a pilot site. The frequency of
such event is estimated to be
approximately one per day.
ADDRESSES: The agency seeks public
comments on its proposed information
collection. Comments should address
whether the information will have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection; ways
to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and 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.
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 6th day
of July, 2006.
William Bannister,
Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, Research and
Advanced Technology Administration, U.S.
Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. E6–11034 Filed 7–12–06; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Innovative Technology
Administration
Agency Information Collection;
Activity Under OMB Review; Collection
of Data for Program Evaluation
Research & Innovative
Technology Administration (RITA),
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.

sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES

AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice
announces that the Information
Collection Request (ICR) described
below is being forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
approval for a new information
collection related to the evaluation of a
five-year demonstration/research
program on voluntary reporting of close
calls and near misses in the rail
environment. 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 collection of information was

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published on May 10, 2006 (71 FR
27313) and the comment period ended
on July 9, 2006. The 60-day notice
produced no comments.
DATES: Written comments should be
submitted by August 14, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Demetra V. Collia, Room 3430, RITA,
BTS, Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590–0001. Telephone (202) 366–1610,
Fax (202) 493–0568 or e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Collection of Data for Program
Evaluation.
Type of Request: Approval of a new
information collection.
OMB Control Number: New.
Affected Public: Workers in the
railroad industry.
Number of Respondents: 1200.
Number of Responses: 1200.
Total Annual Burden: 600 hours
(Average estimate of 30 minutes to
complete the survey resulting in a total
of 600 hours).
Abstract: Collecting data on the
nation’s transportation system is an
important component of BTS’
responsibility to the transportation
community and is authorized in BTS
statutory authority (49 U.S.C. 111(c)(1)
and (2) and 49 U.S.C. 111(c)(5)(j)).
Further, BTS and FRA share a common
interest in promoting rail safety based
on better data. In recognition of the need
for new approaches to improving safety,
the FRA has initiated a research
program called the Confidential Close
Call Reporting System (C3RS). The C3RS
is designed to identify safety issues and
propose corrective actions based on
voluntary reports of close calls
submitted to BTS. BTS will collect
reports on close calls and near misses
submitted by railroad employees,
develop an analytical database
containing the reported data and other
pertinent information, and protect the
confidentiality of these data through its
own statute (49 U.S.C. 111(i)) and the
Confidential Information Protection and
Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002
(CIPSEA). BTS is seeking a separate
OMB approval for the collection of close
call reports (71 FR 24913, April 27,
2006) which does not involve the
evaluation of the reporting system.
While C3RS is being implemented
with the participation of the FRA,
railroad labor, and railroad
management, there are legitimate
questions about whether it is being
implemented in the most effective way,
and whether it will have its intended
effect. Further, even if C3RS is
successful, it will be necessary to know

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if it is successful enough to implement
on a wide scale. To address these
important questions, the 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. BTS will collect,
process, and analyze the survey data for
the evaluation of C3RS.
Employees of selected railroad sites
(pilot sites) will be asked to fill out a
questionnaire which will be made
available to them at town hall meetings
and mail back to BTS. Data will be
collected from the entire population of
affected workers (estimate 1200 or less).
The survey will ask respondents to
provide information on: (a) Beliefs about
rail safety; (b) issues and personal
concerns related to implementation of
safety programs in their work
environment; (c) knowledge and views
on voluntary reporting of unsafe events;
and (d) opinions and observations about
the operation of C3RS at their work site.
It is estimated that the survey will take
no more than 30 minutes to complete
for a maximum total burden of 600
hours (1200 respondents*30 minutes/60
= 600 hours).
The agency seeks public
comments on its proposed information
collection. Comments should address
whether the information will have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection; ways
to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and 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.
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.

ADDRESSES:

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 6th day
of July, 2006.
William Bannister,
Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, Research and
Advanced Technology Administration, U.S.
Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. E6–11035 Filed 7–12–06; 8:45 am]
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