February 22, 2019, FR Notice (60-Day)

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 36 / Friday, February 22, 2019 / Notices
these exemptions will be effective on
March 26, 2019, unless stayed pending
reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do
not involve environmental issues,2
formal expressions of intent to file an
OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),3 and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49
CFR 1152.29 must be filed by March 4,
2019. Petitions to reopen or requests for
public use conditions under 49 CFR
1152.28 must be filed by March 14,
2019, with the Surface Transportation
Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC
20423–0001.
A copy of any petition filed with the
Board should be sent to Eric M. Hocky,
Clark Hill, PLC, One Commerce Square,
2005 Market Street, Suite 1000,
Philadelphia, PA 19103.
If the verified notice contains false or
misleading information, the exemptions
are void ab initio.
Applicants have filed a combined
environmental and historic report that
addresses the effects, if any, of the
abandonment on the environment and
historic resources. OEA will issue an
environmental assessment (EA) by
March 1, 2019. Interested persons may
obtain a copy of the EA by writing to
OEA (Surface Transportation Board,
Washington, DC 20423–0001) or by
calling OEA at (202) 245–0305.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is
available through the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339. Comments on
environmental and historic preservation
matters must be filed within 15 days
after the EA becomes available to the
public.
Environmental, historic preservation,
public use, or trail use/rail banking
conditions will be imposed, where
appropriate, in a subsequent decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR
1152.29(e)(2), SCRF shall file a notice of
consummation with the Board to signify
that it has exercised the authority
granted and fully abandoned the Line. If
consummation has not been effected by
SCRF’s filing of a notice of
consummation by February 22, 2020,
and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority
to abandon will automatically expire.
2 The Board will grant a stay if an informed
decision on environmental issues (whether raised
by a party or by the Board’s Office of Environmental
Analysis (OEA) in its independent investigation)
cannot be made before the exemptions’ effective
date. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5
I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request for a stay should
be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may
take appropriate action before the exemptions’
effective date.
3 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing
fee, which is currently set at $1,800. See 49 CFR
1002.2(f)(25).

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Board decisions and notices are
available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: February 15, 2019.
By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Acting
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2019–03061 Filed 2–21–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2019–0004–N–3]

Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, FRA seeks
approval of the Information Collection
Request (ICR) abstracted below. Before
submitting this ICR to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
approval, FRA is soliciting public
comment on specific aspects of the
activities identified below.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before April 23,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
on the ICR activities by mail to either:
Mr. Robert Brogan, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Office of
Railroad Safety, Regulatory Analysis
Division, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W33–497,
Washington, DC 20590; or Ms. Kim
Toone, Information Collection Clearance
Officer, Office of Information
Technology, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W34–212,
Washington, DC 20590. Commenters
requesting FRA to acknowledge receipt
of their respective comments must
include a self-addressed stamped
postcard stating, ‘‘Comments on OMB
Control Number 2130–NEW’’ and
should also include the title of the ICR.
Alternatively, comments may be faxed
to (202) 493–6216 or (202) 493–6497, or
emailed to Mr. Brogan at robert.brogan@
dot.gov, or Ms. Toone at kim.toone@
dot.gov. Please refer to the assigned
OMB control number in any
correspondence submitted. FRA will
summarize comments received in
SUMMARY:

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5805

response to this notice in a subsequent
notice and include them in its
information collection submission to
OMB for approval.
Mr.
Robert Brogan, Information Collection
Clearance Officer, Office of Railroad
Safety, Regulatory Analysis Division,
Federal Railroad Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W33–497,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 202–
493–6292) or Ms. Kim Toone,
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, Office of Information
Technology, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W34–212,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 202–
493–6132).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The PRA,
44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part
1320, require Federal agencies to
provide 60-days’ notice to the public to
allow comment on information
collection activities before seeking OMB
approval of the activities. See 44 U.S.C.
3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through
1320.12. Specifically, FRA invites
interested parties to comment on the
following ICR regarding: (1) Whether the
information collection activities are
necessary for FRA to properly execute
its functions, including whether the
activities will have practical utility; (2)
the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of the
burden of the information collection
activities, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used to
determine the estimates; (3) ways for
FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information being
collected; and (4) ways for FRA to
minimize the burden of information
collection activities on the public,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. See 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
FRA believes that soliciting public
comment may reduce the administrative
and paperwork burdens associated with
the collection of information that
Federal regulations require. In
summary, FRA reasons that comments
received will advance three objectives:
(1) Reduce reporting burdens; (2)
organize information collection
requirements in a ‘‘user-friendly’’ format
to improve the use of such information;
and (3) accurately assess the resources
expended to retrieve and produce
information requested. See 44 U.S.C.
3501.
The summary below describes the ICR
that FRA will submit for OMB clearance
as the PRA requires:

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 36 / Friday, February 22, 2019 / Notices

Title: Federal Railroad Administration
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
(DBE) Disparity Study.
OMB Control Number: 2130–NEW.
Abstract: The objective of this work is
to complete a congressionally-mandated
disparity study evaluating the
participation by small and
disadvantaged businesses in railroad
contracting that meets the requirements
of the Disadvantaged Business
Enterprise (DBE) program for federallyfunded projects administered by the
Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) or the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA), 49 CFR part 26.
The purpose of this disparity study is to
evaluate the market for the availability
and utilization of small and
disadvantaged businesses in publiclyfunded railroad contracting. The study
will be used as evidence to inform FRA
and DOT on the state of small and
disadvantaged business contracting in
the railroad industry and will be a
component in the FRA’s Title VI
compliance program.
FRA does not currently have statutory
authority to administer a DBE program
like those in place at FHWA, FTA, and
the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). DOT DBE regulations applicable
to FHWA, FTA and FAA require state
and local transportation agencies that
receive DOT financial assistance to
establish goals for the participation of
DBEs. Each DOT-assisted State and local
transportation agency is required to
establish annual DBE goals, review the
scopes of anticipated large prime
contracts, and establish contract-specific
DBE subcontracting goals. Without
statutory DBE authority, FRA can only
encourage recipients of its Federal
financial assistance to use in their
projects small business concerns owned
and controlled by socially and
economically disadvantaged
individuals. These types of small
business concerns include small
businesses, DBEs, Veteran-Owned Small
Businesses, and Service Disabled
Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.
Despite the lack of a formal DBE
program, FRA fully supports the
objectives of DBE programs and all
FRA’s grantees are required to avoid
discrimination in contracting.
In addition, in late 2015, Congress
passed the ‘‘Fixing America’s Surface
Transportation Act’’ (FAST Act), (Pub.
L. 114–94). The FAST Act codified the
requirement for FRA to conduct ‘‘a

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nationwide disparity and availability
study on the availability and use of
small business concerns owned and
controlled by socially and economically
disadvantaged individuals and veteranowned small businesses in publicly
funded intercity rail passenger
transportation projects.’’ See FAST Act,
sec. 11310, Small Business Participation
Study. The legislation requires that:
‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall submit a report containing the
results of the study . . . to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives.’’ Id.
The collection of information for the
study includes three surveys and a
series of webinar focus groups. In
Survey #1, FRA’s study contractor (i.e.,
the Jack Faucett Associates team) will
contact all FRA grant recipients and
work with them to identify all of the
prime contractors, consultants, and
vendors with whom they spent grant
funds and the amount of those funds.
Next, the study team will contact the
sub-grantees, prime contractors,
consultants and suppliers that the study
identified, and work with them to
identify all subcontractors, subconsultants, and suppliers that they
utilize and the amount of those
contracts. This survey is necessary to
develop estimates of the amount of FRA
grants and contracts that flow to DBEs.
In Survey #2, the study team will
survey DBE and non-DBE firms in the
railroad industry. The survey will elicit
data on firms’ experiences with
discrimination, as well as experiences
in bidding with the grantees and their
prime contractors and consultants. This
approach ensures that anecdotal
findings are corroborated by an actual
representation of the DBE and non-DBE
communities at large in the relevant
markets. The personal experiences of
disparate treatment suffered by
minorities or women in seeking and
performing public and private sector
work in the relevant marketplace
reinforce buttress sound statistical
evidence of disparate impacts. Since
response rates to voluntary surveys tend
to be fairly low, the study team will take
additional steps to increase
responsiveness, including an outreach
campaign, professionally designed

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surveys, cover letters signed by top FRA
officials, multiple reminders, and a
devoted wide-area telephone service
line and email address for requesting
replacement surveys and addressing
other inquiries. Moreover, the study
team will statistically validate
representativeness using surveys of nonrespondents.
In the focus groups, the study team
will also collect qualitative anecdotal
information through in-depth webinar
focus groups of DBE and non-DBE
business owners, as well as
procurement personnel at FRA and its
grantees. These focus groups likewise
will explore barriers to the full and fair
participation of DBEs in FRA’s market
area and that of its grantees. The focus
groups also will investigate whether the
USDOT programs and policies, as they
apply to FRA and its grantees,
adequately address these challenges.
These focus groups will yield valuable
information about the day-to-day
realities affecting DBE firms and will
inform how to develop FRA’s policy
responses to those challenges.
In Survey #3, the study team will
survey firms to verify their DBE status.
The comparison of FRA’s use of DBEs
versus their prevalence by industry and
geography is crucial to developing the
sound statistical evidence of
discrimination the courts have required.
Starting from known business
establishment lists (such as those from
Dun & Bradstreet), the study will crossreference numerous additional listings
and directories of DBE firms in the
relevant geographic and product
markets in order to improve the
classification of firms according to their
status. Next, the study team will take
the additional step of validating
putative assignments using telephone
surveys of a statistically random sample
of businesses from the master database.
Type of Request: Approval of a new
collection of information.
Affected Public: Businesses.
Form(s): FRA F 6180.171; FRA F
6180.172; FRA F 6180.173; FRA F
6180.174.
Respondent Universe: 35,000
Grantees, Sub-Grantees, Prime
Contractors, Sub-Contractors, DBEs, and
Non-Disadvantaged Business Firms.
Frequency of Submission: On
occasion.
Reporting Burden:

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 36 / Friday, February 22, 2019 / Notices
Average
time per
response
(hours)

Total
annual
burden
hours

Total
annual
burden
cost *

Form No.

Respondent universe

Total annual
responses

Survey #1: Grantee and Contractor
Collection Form.

1,250 Grantees, Sub-grantees,
Prime-Contractors, and SubContractors.
35,000 DBE and non-DBE firms ....

500 surveys .......

4

2,000

$115,300

2,750 surveys ....

.25

688

39,663

20,000 DBE and non-DBE firms ....

250 focus group
participants.
4,250 surveys ....

1

250

14,413

.05

213

12,279

Survey #2: Experiences with Discrimination.
Focus Groups on Experiences with
Discrimination.
Survey #3: DBE Status Verification

28,000 DBE and non-DBE firms ....

Note: The annual hourly wage rate for the above calculations is $57.65 and is derived from the Management Occupations (Occupational Code
11–0000) Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2017, National Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimates.

Total Estimated Annual Responses:
7,750.
Total Estimated Annual Burden:
3,151 hours.
Total Estimated Dollar Cost:
$181,655.
Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR
1320.5(b) and 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA
informs all interested parties that it may
not conduct or sponsor, and a
respondent is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.
Brett A. Jortland,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019–03049 Filed 2–21–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2019–0004–N–2]

Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its
implementing regulations, FRA seeks
approval of the Information Collection
Requests (ICRs) abstracted below. Before
submitting these ICRs to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
approval, FRA is soliciting public
comment on specific aspects of the
activities identified below.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before April 23,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
on the ICRs activities by mail to either:
SUMMARY:

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Mr. Robert Brogan, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Office of
Railroad Safety, Regulatory Analysis
Division, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W33–497,
Washington, DC 20590; or Ms. Kim
Toone, Information Collection Clearance
Officer, Office of Information
Technology, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W34–212,
Washington, DC 20590. Commenters
requesting FRA to acknowledge receipt
of their respective comments must
include a self-addressed stamped
postcard stating, ‘‘Comments on OMB
Control Number 2130–XXXX,’’ (the
relevant OMB control number for each
ICR is listed below) and should also
include the title of the ICR.
Alternatively, comments may be faxed
to (202) 493–6216 or (202) 493–6497, or
emailed to Mr. Brogan at
[email protected], or Ms. Toone at
[email protected]. Please refer to the
assigned OMB control number in any
correspondence submitted. FRA will
summarize comments received in
response to this notice in a subsequent
notice and include them in its
information collection submission to
OMB for approval.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Robert Brogan, Information Collection
Clearance Officer, Office of Railroad
Safety, Regulatory Analysis Division,
Federal Railroad Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W33–497,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202)
493–6292) or Ms. Kim Toone,
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, Office of Information
Technology, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Room W34–212,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202)
493–6132).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA,
44 U.S.C. 3501–3520, and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part
1320, require Federal agencies to

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provide 60-days’ notice to the public to
allow comment on information
collection activities before seeking OMB
approval of the activities. See 44 U.S.C.
3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through
1320.12. Specifically, FRA invites
interested parties to comment on the
following ICRs regarding: (1) Whether
the information collection activities are
necessary for FRA to properly execute
its functions, including whether the
activities will have practical utility; (2)
the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of the
burden of the information collection
activities, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used to
determine the estimates; (3) ways for
FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information being
collected; and (4) ways for FRA to
minimize the burden of information
collection activities on the public,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. See 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
FRA believes that soliciting public
comment may reduce the administrative
and paperwork burdens associated with
the collection of information that
Federal regulations mandate. In
summary, FRA reasons that comments
received will advance three objectives:
(1) Reduce reporting burdens; (2)
organize information collection
requirements in a ‘‘user-friendly’’ format
to improve the use of such information;
and (3) accurately assess the resources
expended to retrieve and produce
information requested. See 44 U.S.C.
3501.
The summaries below describe the
ICRs that FRA will submit for OMB
clearance as the PRA requires:
Title: Safety Appliance Standards
Guidance Checklist Forms.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0565.
Abstract: Sample car/locomotive
inspections are performed upon request
as a courtesy to the car manufacturers to
ensure that the equipment is built in
accordance with the Code of Federal

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