30-day Federal Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 1 / Monday, January 4, 2010 / Notices
form for the collection of information is
available for review by calling OSC, or
on OSC’s Web site, at http://
www.osc.gov/library.htm.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSC is an
independent agency responsible for,
among other things, (1) investigation of
allegations of prohibited personnel
practices defined by law at 5 U.S.C.
2302(b), protection of whistleblowers,
and certain other illegal employment
practices under titles 5 and 38 of the
U.S. Code, affecting current or former
Federal employees or applicants for
employment, and covered state and
local government employees; and (2) the
interpretation and enforcement of Hatch
Act provisions on political activity in
chapters 15 and 73 of title 5 of the U.S.
Code. OSC is required to conduct an
annual survey of individuals who seek
its assistance. Section 13 of Public Law
103-424 (1994), codified at 5 U.S.C.
1212 note, states, in part: ‘‘[T]he survey
shall--(1) determine if the individual
seeking assistance was fully apprised of
their rights; (2) determine whether the
individual was successful either at the
Office of Special Counsel or the Merit
Systems Protection Board; and (3)
determine if the individual, whether
successful or not, was satisfied with the
treatment received from the Office of
Special Counsel.’’ The same section also
provides that survey results are to be
published in OSC’s annual report to
Congress. Copies of prior years’ annual
reports are available on OSC’s Web site,
at http://www.osc.gov/
library.htmιcongress or by calling OSC
at (202) 254-3600.
OSC has enhanced the effectiveness of
this survey by revising the questions
asked. OSC continues to use the online
survey, due to its effectiveness in
reducing response time.
Title of Collection: OSC Survey-Prohibited Personnel Practice or
Other Prohibited Activity (Agency Form
Number OSC-48a; OMB Control Number
3255-0003)
Type of Information Collection
Request: Approval of a previously
approved collection of information that
expired on March 31, 2009, with
revisions.
Affected public: Current and former
Federal employees, applicants for
Federal employment, state and local
government employees, and their
representatives, and the general public.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents: 600.
Frequency: Annual.
Estimated Average Amount of Time
for a Person to Respond: 12 minutes.
Estimated Annual Burden: 109 hours.

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Abstract: This form is used to survey
current and former Federal employees
and applicants for Federal employment
who have submitted allegations of
possible prohibited personnel practices
or other prohibited activity for
investigation and possible prosecution
by OSC, and whose matter has been
closed or otherwise resolved during the
prior fiscal year, on their experience at
OSC. Specifically, the survey asks
questions relating to whether the
respondent was: (1) apprised of his or
her rights; (2) successful at the OSC or
at the Merit Systems Protection Board;
and (3) satisfied with the treatment
received at the OSC.
Dated: December 18, 2009.
William E. Reukauf
Associate Special Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9–31167 Filed 12–31–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7405–01–S

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Overseas Schools Advisory Council
Notice of Meeting
The Overseas Schools Advisory
Council, Department of State, will hold
its Executive Committee Meeting on
Thursday, January 21, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.
in Conference Room 1107, Department
of State Building, 2201 C Street, NW.,
Washington, DC. The meeting is open to
the public and will last until
approximately 12 p.m.
The Overseas Schools Advisory
Council works closely with the U.S.
business community in improving those
American-sponsored schools overseas
that are assisted by the Department of
State and attended by dependents of
U.S. Government families and children
of employees of U.S. corporations and
foundations abroad.
This meeting will deal with issues
related to the work and the support
provided by the Overseas Schools
Advisory Council to the Americansponsored overseas schools. The agenda
includes a review of the projects
selected for the 2008 and 2009
Educational Assistance Program, which
are under development, and an address
by Dr. Thelma Melendez, Assistant
Secretary for Elementary and Secondary
Education, U.S. Department of
Education, on education matters in the
United States.
Members of the public may attend the
meeting and join in the discussion,
subject to the instructions of the Chair.
Admittance of public members will be
limited to the seating available. Access
to the State Department is controlled,

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and individual building passes are
required for all attendees. Persons who
plan to attend should so advise the
office of Dr. Keith D. Miller, Department
of State, Office of Overseas Schools,
Room H328, SA–1, Washington, DC
20522–0132, telephone 202–261–8200,
prior to January 11, 2010. Each visitor
will be asked to provide his/her date of
birth and either driver’s license or
passport number at the time of
registration and attendance, and must
carry a valid photo ID to the meeting.
Any requests for reasonable
accommodation should be made at the
time of registration. All such requests
will be considered, however, requests
made after January 11th might not be
possible to fill. All attendees must use
the C Street entrance to the building.
Dated: December 18, 2009.
Keith D. Miller,
Executive Secretary, Overseas Schools
Advisory Council.
[FR Doc. E9–31107 Filed 12–31–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–24–P

[Public Notice Number 6844]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Innovative Technology
Administration
Agency Information Collection;
Activity Under OMB Review;
Confidential Close Call Reporting
System
AGENCY: Research & Innovative
Technology Administration (RITA),
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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 renewal of information
collection supporting a five-year
research study that aims at improving
rail safety by analyzing information on
close calls and other unsafe occurrences
in the rail industry. 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
published on October 21, 2009 (74 FR
54116) and the comment period ended
on December 21, 2009. The 60-day
notice produced no comments.
DATES: Written comments should be
submitted by February 3, 2010.

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 1 / Monday, January 4, 2010 / Notices

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Demetra V. Collia, E–36, Room 314,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
Research and Innovative Technology
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave.,
SE., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 366–
1610; Fax (202) 366–3676; e-mail
[email protected].

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Confidential Close Call
Reporting System.
Type of Request: Approval to
continue to collect information on close
calls.
OMB Control Number: 2139–0010.
Affected Public: Workers in the
railroad industry.
Number of Respondents: 4,000.
Number of Responses: 730.
Total Annual Burden: 365.00 hours
(Average estimate of 30 minutes to
complete the C3RS Close Call form and
employee survey, resulting in a total of
365.00 hours).
Abstract: Collecting data on the
nation’s transportation system is an
important component of BTS’s
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)). The
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
and BTS share a common interest in
promoting rail safety based on better
data. To that end, FRA’s Office of
Research and Development is
sponsoring the Confidential Close Call
Reporting System (C3RS) Demonstration
Project to investigate the effectiveness of
such system in improving rail safety.
A close call represents a situation in
which an ongoing sequence of events
was stopped from developing further,
preventing the occurrence of potentially
serious safety-related consequences.
This might include the following: (1)
Events that happen frequently, but have
low safety consequences; (2) events that
happen infrequently but have the
potential for high consequences (e.g., a
train in dark territory proceeds beyond
its authority); (3) events that are below
the FRA reporting threshold (e.g., an
event that causes a minor injury); and
(4) events that are reportable to FRA but
have the potential for a far greater
accident than the one reported (e.g., a
slow speed collision with minor damage
to the equipment and no injuries.)
Employees involved in a close call are
asked to provide information about the
reported event by filling out a
questionnaire and participating in a
brief interview, as needed. The close
call reporting form (questionnaire) asks
the respondent to provide information
on: (1) Name and contact information;
(2) time and location of the incident;

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(3) a short description of the event; (4)
contributing factors to the close call;
and (5) any other information that might
be useful in determining a root cause of
such event.
BTS collects close call reports
submitted by railroad employees and
protects 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). Accordingly, only
statistical and non-sensitive information
will be made available through
publications and reports. In addition,
BTS is developing an analytical
database containing the reported data
and other pertinent information to
determine root causes of frequently
reported close calls. The database is a
valuable tool to railroad carriers and the
FRA in their effort to identify safety
issues and provide corrective measures
before an accident occurs.
Voluntary reporting of close calls to a
confidential system can provide a tool
to identify and correct weaknesses in
railroad safety systems before an
accident actually occurs. The C3RS
demonstration project offers a
voluntary, cooperative, non-punitive
environment to communicate safety
concerns. Through the analysis of close
calls, the FRA and the railroad
community receive information about
factors that may contribute to unsafe
events and the error recovery
mechanisms that prevented an adverse
consequence from occurring. Such
information is used to develop new
training programs, identify root causes
of potentially adverse events, assess risk
and allocate resources to address those
risks more efficiently. In addition, the
database provides rail safety researchers
with valuable information regarding
precursors to safety risks and
contributes to research and
development of intervention programs
aimed at preventing accidents and
fatalities.
It is estimated that close call reporting
will take no more than 30 minutes to
complete for a maximum total burden of
365.00 hours (730 reports * 30 minutes/
60 = 365.00 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 two
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

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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 December 28,
2009.
Steven D. Dillingham,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
Research and Innovative Technology
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–31135 Filed 12–31–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–HY–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with Part 211 of Title
49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
notice is hereby given that the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) received
a request for a waiver of compliance
with certain requirements of its safety
standards. The individual petition is
described below, including the party
seeking relief, the regulatory provisions
involved, the nature of the relief being
requested, and the petitioner’s
arguments in favour of relief.
Alton & Southern Railway
[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2009–
0121]

The Alton & Southern Railway
Company (ALS) has petitioned for a
waiver of compliance from the
requirements of Title 49 CFR
229.23(d)(f), 229.27(3), and 229.29(a) as
it pertains to the physical recordkeeping
requirements for 92-day periodic,
annual, and biennial locomotive
inspection reports at mechanical
facilities where the inspections are
performed, and for the maintenance of
a copy of the locomotive inspection and
repair record in the cab of the
locomotive.
Through this waiver, for all
locomotives leased from the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, ALS seeks to
complete and maintain an electronic
report of each locomotive inspection
report, repair record, and a hard copy.
Pursuant to Title 49 CFR 229.23(d)(f),
229.27(3), and 229.29(a), this electronic
report will be maintained in a
centralized computer database for the
required period, and a hard copy of the

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