60 Day Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 103 / Tuesday, May 29, 2012 / Notices

• One member from the general
public.
To be eligible, applicants should have
expertise, knowledge, and experience
relative to the position in the towing
industry, marine transportation, or
business operations associated with
shallow-draft inland and coastal
waterway navigation and towing safety.
If you are selected as a nonrepresentative member, or as a member
who represents the general public, you
will be appointed and serve as a Special
Government Employee (SGE) as defined
in section 202(a) of title 18, United
States Code. As a candidate for
appointment as a SGE, applicants are
required to complete a Confidential
Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form
450). Coast Guard may not release the
reports or the information in them to the
public except under an order issued by
a Federal court or as otherwise provided
under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a).
Applicants can obtain this form by
going to the Web site of the Office of
Government Ethics (www.oge.gov), or by
contacting the individual listed above.
Applications which are not
accompanied by a completed OGE Form
450 will not be considered.
Each member serves for a term of up
to 3 years. Members may be considered
to serve consecutive terms. All members
serve at their own expense and receive
no salary, or other compensation from
the Federal Government. The exception
to this policy is the possible
reimbursement of travel and per diem
expenses depending on fiscal budgetary
constraints.
Registered lobbyists are not eligible to
serve on Federal advisory committees.
Registered lobbyists are lobbyists
required to comply with provisions
contained in the Lobbying Disclosure
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–65, as amended
by Title II of Pub. L. 110–81.
The Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) does not discriminate in
employment on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, political
affiliation, sexual orientation, gender
identity, marital status, disability and
genetic information, age, membership in
an employee organization, or other nonmerit factor. DHS strives to achieve a
widely diverse candidate pool for all of
its recruitment actions.
To visit our online docket, go to
http://www.regulations.gov, enter the
docket number for this notice (USCG–
2012–0458) in the Search box, and press
Enter.’’ Please do not post your resume
on this site. During the vetting process,
applicants may be asked to provide date
of birth and social security number.

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Dated: May 21, 2012.
F.J. Sturm,
Acting Director of Commercial Regulations
and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2012–12874 Filed 5–25–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
Intent To Request Approval From OMB
of One New Public Collection of
Information: Highway Baseline
Assessment for Security Enhancement
(BASE) Program
Transportation Security
Administration, DHS.
ACTION: 60-day notice.
AGENCY:

The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) invites public
comment on a new Information
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted
below that we will submit to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
approval in compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The
ICR describes the nature of the
information collection and its expected
burden. The ICR will assess the current
security practices in the highway and
motor carrier industry by way of its
Highway Baseline Assessment for
Security Enhancement (BASE) program,
which encompasses site visits and
interviews, and is part of the larger
domain awareness, prevention, and
protection program supporting TSA’s
and the Department of Homeland
Security’s (DHS) missions. This
voluntary collection allows TSA to
conduct transportation security-related
assessments during site visits with
security and operating officials of
surface transportation entities.
DATES: Send your comments by July 30,
2012.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be emailed
to [email protected] or delivered to the
TSA PRA Officer, Office of Information
Technology (OIT), TSA–11,
Transportation Security Administration,
601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA
20598–6011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Perkins at the above address, or
by telephone (571) 227–3398.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

Comments Invited
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), an agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information

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unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. The ICR documentation is
available at www.reginfo.gov. Therefore,
in preparation for OMB review and
approval of the following information
collection, 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 using
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Information Collection Requirement
Purpose of Data Collection
Under the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act (ATSA) and
delegated authority from the Secretary
of Homeland Security, TSA has broad
responsibility and authority for
‘‘security in all modes of transportation
including security responsibilities over
modes of transportation that are
exercised by the Department of
Transportation.’’ 1 TSA is also
specifically empowered to develop
policies, strategies, and plans for
dealing with threats to transportation,2
ensure the adequacy of security
measures for the transportation of
cargo,3 oversee the implementation and
ensure the adequacy of security
measures at transportation facilities,4
and carry out other appropriate duties
relating to transportation security.5
In the past, TSA has conducted
Corporate Security Reviews (CSRs) with
organizations engaged in transportation
1 See Pub. L. 107–71, 115 Stat. 597 (Nov. 19,
2001), codified at 49 U.S.C. 114(d). The TSA
Assistant Secretary’s current authorities under
ATSA have been delegated to him by the Secretary
of Homeland Security. Section 403(2) of the
Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, Pub. L. 107–
296, 116 Stat. 2315 (2002), transferred all functions
of TSA, including those of the Secretary of
Transportation and the Under Secretary of
Transportation of Security related to TSA, to the
Secretary of Homeland Security. Pursuant to DHS
Delegation Number 7060.2, the Secretary delegated
to the Assistant Secretary (now referred to as the
Administrator of TSA), subject to the Secretary’s
guidance and control, the authority vested in the
Secretary with respect to TSA, including that in sec.
403(2) of the HSA.
2 49 U.S.C. 114(f)(3).
3 49 U.S.C. 114(f)(10).
4 49 U.S.C. 114(f)(11).
5 49 U.S.C. 114(f)(15).

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 103 / Tuesday, May 29, 2012 / Notices

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by motor vehicle and those that
maintain or operate key physical assets
within the highway transportation
community. These CSRs have served to
evaluate and collect physical and
operational preparedness information,
critical assets and key point-of-contact
lists, review emergency procedures and
domain awareness training, and provide
an opportunity to share industry best
practices.6
At this time, TSA is consolidating
some assessment programs within
surface modes of transportation. As part
of this effort, the Highway CSR will
become a Baseline Assessment for
Security Enhancement (BASE). This
will provide for greater consistency as
TSA also has a BASE program to
evaluate the status of security and
emergency response programs on transit
systems throughout the nation; this
program operates similarly to the CSRs.
Highway BASE program will continue
to be a voluntary, instructive, and
interactive review used by TSA to assess
the adequacy of security measures
related to highway transportation—such
as trucking, school bus, and motorcoach
industries, privately-owned highway
assets that may include bridges and
tunnels, and other related systems and
assets owned and operated by state
departments of education and
transportation. The Highway BASE
program encompasses site visits and
interviews, and is one piece of a much
larger domain awareness, prevention,
and protection program in support of
the TSA and DHS missions. TSA is
seeking to obtain OMB approval for this
information collection so that TSA can
ascertain minimum security standards
and identify coverage gaps, activities
critical to carrying out its transportation
security mission.
Description of Data Collection
In carrying out BASE, Transportation
Security Specialists (TSS) from TSA’s
Highway and Motor Carrier Division
(HMC) and Transportation Security
Inspectors-Surface (TSI–S) conduct site
visits of trucking (excluding hazardous
materials shippers and carriers as per
agreement with U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA),
school bus, motorcoach companies,
bridge and tunnel owners, State DOTs,
and State Departments of Energy (DOEs)
throughout the Nation. The TSA
representatives analyze the owner’s/
operator’s security plan, if the owner/
operator has adopted one, and
determines if the mitigation measures
6 See 74 FR 28264 (June 15, 2009) for the most
recent reinstatement of the PRA for this program.

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included in the plan are being properly
implemented. In addition to examining
the security plan document, TSA
reviews one or more assets of the private
and/or public owner/operator. During
the site visits, TSA completes a BASE
checklist form, which contains four (4)
topic areas: Management and
accountability, personnel security,
facility security, and vehicle security.
Within these four topics are twentythree recommended measures, also
referred to as Security Action Items
(SAIs). TSA conducts this collection
through voluntary face-to-face visits at
the headquarters and site facilities of the
surface transportation owners/operators.
All BASE reviews are done on a
voluntary basis.
Typically, TSA sends one to two
employees to conduct a two to three
hour discussion/interview with
representatives from the owner/
operator. TSA collects information from
businesses of all sizes in the course of
conducting these surface mode BASEs.
TSA conducts these interviews to
ascertain information on security
measures and to identify security gaps.
The interviews also provide TSA with a
method to encourage the surface
transportation owners/operators affected
by the BASE to be diligent in effecting
and maintaining security-related
improvements. This program provides
TSA with real-time information on
current security practices within the
infrastructure, trucking, school bus, and
motorcoach modes of the surface
transportation sector. This information
allows TSA to adapt programs to the
changing threat dynamically, while
incorporating an understanding of the
improvements owners/operators make
in their security posture. Without this
information, the ability of TSA to
perform its security mission would be
severely hindered. Additionally, the
relationships these face-to-face contacts
foster are critical to TSA’s ability to
reach out to the surface transportation
stakeholders affected by the BASEs.
TSA assures respondents the portion of
their responses deemed Sensitive
Security Information (SSI) will be
handled consistent with 49 CFR parts 15
and 1520.
Use of Results
The Highway BASE process will align
highway and motor carrier security
efforts with other TSA risk reduction
efforts and provide industry partners
corrective action options to consider by
identifying security smart practices to
share with others.
A BASE review evaluates a highway
modal entity’s security program
components using a two-phased

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approach: (1) Field collection of
information and (2) analysis/evaluation
of collected information. The
information collected by TSA through
BASE reviews strengthens the security
of highway systems by supporting
security program development
(including grant programs) and the
analysis/evaluation provides a
consistent road map for highway
systems to address security and
emergency program vulnerabilities. In
addition, each highway entity that
undergoes a BASE assessment is
provided with a report of results that is
used in security enhancement activities.
Specifically, the information collected
will be used:
1. To develop a baseline
understanding of a highway entity’s
security and emergency management
processes, procedures, policies,
programs, and activities against security
requirements and recommended
security practices published by TSA.
2. To enhance a highway entity’s
overall security posture through
collaborative review and discussion of
existing security activities,
identification of areas of potential
weakness or vulnerability, and
development of remedial
recommendations and courses of action.
3. To identify programs and protocols
implemented by a highway entity that
represent an ‘‘effective’’ or ‘‘smart’’
security practice warranting sharing
with the highway community as a
whole to foster general enhancement of
security in the highway surface mode.
4. To inform TSA’s development of
security strategies, priorities, and
programs for the most effective
application of available resources,
including funds distributed under the
Intercity Bus Security Grant Program
(IBSGP) and Trucking Security Program
(TSP), to enhance security in the
Nation’s highway modal system.
While TSA has not set a limit on the
number of BASE reviews to conduct,
TSA estimates approximately 750 visits
per year. The annual hour burden for
this information collection is estimated
to be 3,000 hours. This estimate is based
on TSA conducting 750 visits per year,
each visit lasting two to three hours.
TSA estimates no annual cost burden to
respondents.
Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on May 22,
2012.
Susan Perkins,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office
of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2012–12957 Filed 5–25–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–05–P

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