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AGENCY:

Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend the following currently approved information collection:

49 U.S.C. Section 5330—Rail Fixed Guideway Systems, State Safety Oversight.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted before October 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once into the docket, submit comments identified by the docket number by only one of the following methods:

1. Web site: http://http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site. (Note: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) electronic docket is no longer accepting electronic comments.) All electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic docket site at http://www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the directions below for mailed and hand-delivered comments.

2. Fax: 202-493-2251.

3. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number for this notice at the beginning of your comments. Submit two copies of your comments if you submit them by mail. For confirmation that FTA has received your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Note that all comments received, including any personal information, will be posted and will be available to Internet users, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents and comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Background documents and comments received may also be viewed at the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Levern McElveen, Safety Team Leader, Office of Safety and Security, (202) 366-1651, or e-mail: Levern.McElveen@dot.gov.

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Interested parties are invited to send comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) The necessity and utility of the information collection for the proper performance of the functions of the FTA; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of the collected information. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection.

Title: 49 U.S.C. Section 5330—Rail Fixed Guideway Systems, State Safety Oversight (OMB Number: 2132-0558)

Background: 49 U.S.C. Section 5330 requires States to designate a State Safety Oversight (SSO) agency to oversee the safety and security of each rail transit agency within the State's jurisdiction. To comply with Section 5330, SSO agencies must develop program standards which meet FTA's minimum requirements. In the Program Standard, which must be approved by FTA, each SSO agency must require each rail transit agency in the State's jurisdiction to prepare and implement a System Safety Program Plan (SSPP) and System Security Plan (SSP). The SSO agency also requires the rail transit agencies in its jurisdiction to conduct specific activities, such as accident investigation, implementation of a hazard management program, and the management of an internal safety and security audit process. SSO agencies review and approve the SSPPs and SSPs of the rail transit agencies. Once every three years, States conduct an on-site review of the rail transit agencies in their jurisdictions to assess SSPP/SSP implementation and to determine whether these plans are effective and if they need to be updated. SSO agencies develop final reports documenting the findings from these on-site reviews and require corrective actions. SSO agencies also review and approve accident investigation reports, participate in the rail transit agency's hazard management program, and oversee implementation of the rail transit agency's internal safety and security audit process. SSO agencies review and approve corrective action plans and track and monitor rail transit agency activities to implement them.

Collection of this information enables each SSO agency to monitor each rail transit agency's implementation of the State's requirements as specified in the Program Standard approved by FTA. Without this information, States would not be able to oversee the rail transit agencies in their jurisdictions. Recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have encouraged States and rail transit agencies to devote additional resources to these safety activities and safety oversight in general.

SSO agencies also submit an annual certification to FTA that the State is in compliance with Section 5330 and an annual report documenting the State's safety and security oversight activities. FTA uses the annual information submitted by the States to monitor implementation of the program. If a State fails to comply with Section 5330, FTA may withhold up to five percent of the funds appropriated for use in a State or urbanized area in the State under section 5307. The information submitted by the States ensures FTA's compliance with applicable federal laws, OMB Circular A-102, and 49 CFR part 18, “Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments.”

Respondents: State and local government agencies.

Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: Annually, each designated SSO agency devotes approximately 767 hours to information collection activities for each of the rail transit agencies in the State's jurisdiction. Combined, the SSO agencies spend approximately 33,770 hours on information collection activities each year, or roughly half of the total level of effort devoted to implement Section 5330 requirements in a given year. The Start Printed Page 53714local governments affected by Section 5330, including the rail transit agencies, spend an annual total of 108,623 hours on information collection activities to support implementation of Section 5330, or approximately 2,469 hours each. This amount also equals approximately half of the total level of effort devoted to implement Section 5330 requirements in a given year.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 142,393 hours.

Frequency: Annual.

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