[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67367-67368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33615]
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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION
Notice of Request for Public Comments Regarding Extensions to
Existing OMB Clearances
AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The FMC is preparing submissions to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for continued approval of the following information
collections (extensions with no changes) under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as amended (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35): OMB
No. 3072-0055 (Tariffs and Service Contracts); OMB No. 3072-0045
(Agreements); and OMB No. 3072-0001 (Admission to Practice). Comments
submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included
in the request for OMB approval and will become a matter of public
record.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 23, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Edward P. Walsh, Managing Director,
Federal Maritime Commission, 800 North Capitol Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20573, (Telephone: (202) 523-5800).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Send requests for copies of the current OMB clearances to: George D.
Bowers, Director Office of Information Resources Management, Federal
Maritime Commission, 800 North Capitol Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20573, (Telephone: (202) 523-5834).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Approval Number: 3072-0055 Expires May 31, 1998.
Abstract: Section 8 of the Shipping Act of 1984 requires common
carriers and conferences of such common carriers to file with the
Commission and keep open for public inspection, tariffs showing all
rates, charges, classifications, rules and practices for transportation
of cargo between the U.S. and foreign ports. Section 8(c) of the Act
also provides for the filing of service contracts and statements of the
contracts' essential terms with the Commission. 46 CFR 514 establishes
the requirements, format and user charges for the electronic
publication, filing and retrieval of tariffs, as well as service
contracts and their essential terms, covering the transportation of
property performed by common carriers in the foreign commerce of the
United States and by combinations of such common carriers, including
through transportation offered in conjunction with one or more carriers
not otherwise subject to the Shipping Act of 1984.
Needs and Uses: In order to effectively discharge its statutorily-
assigned duties, the Commission uses filed tariff and service contract
data for surveillance and investigatory purposes, and, in its
proceedings, adjudicates related issues raised by private parties.
Frequency: The publishing and filing of tariffs and the filing of
service contracts are not assigned a specific time frame by the
Commission; they are submitted as circumstances warrant. That is, a
common carrier or conference of such carriers can only charge its
customers rates that are on file with the Commission. Rate increases
must be filed on 30 days notice, while decreases can be filed to take
effect on immediate notice.
Type of Respondents: Common carriers by water are persons who hold
themselves out to the general public to provide transportation by water
of cargo between the United States and a foreign country for
compensation, who assume the responsibility for the transportation from
origin to destination and use a vessel operating on the high seas or
the Great Lakes between a U.S. port and a foreign country.
[[Page 67368]]
Number of annual respondents: The Commission estimates an annual
respondent universe of 3,267. This number varies as persons file
tariffs.
Estimated time per response: The average time for preparing and
filing tariffs and service contracts is estimated at 122 person hours.
Estimated time per respondent for recordkeeping requirements is
estimated at 6 person hours.
Total Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the manhour burden to
file foreign tariffs, service contracts and essential terms at 399,829;
recordkeeping requirements are estimated at 12,080 person hours.
OMB Approval Number: 3072-0045 (Expires May 31, 1998).
Abstract: The Shipping Act of 1984, 46 U.S.C. app. Sec. 1701 et
seq., requires certain classes of agreements between and among ocean
common carriers and marine terminal operators to be filed with the
Commission, specifies the mandatory content of those agreements, and
defines the Commission's authorities and responsibilities in overseeing
these agreements. 46 CFR 572 establishes the form and manner for filing
agreements and for the underlying commercial data necessary to evaluate
agreements.
Needs and Uses: Under its pre-effective review process, the
Commission reviews agreement filings to determine statutory and
regulatory compliance, as well as to assess their anticompetitive
impact. After agreements becomes effective, the Commission monitors
agreement activities to ensure continued statutory and regulatory
compliance. To accomplish this, the Commission continually gathers,
reviews, and interprets commercial data regarding the impact of
agreements on competition, prices, and service in the U.S. foreign
commerce.
Frequency: The Commission has no control over how frequently
agreements are entered into; this is solely a matter between the
negotiating parties. When parties do reach an agreement that falls
under the jurisdiction of the 1984 Shipping Act, that agreement must be
filed with the Commission. Ongoing surveillance of agreement activities
is conducted through the review of minutes and quarterly monitoring
reports filed by the more anticompetitive agreements.
Type of Respondents: Parties that enter into agreements subject to
the Commission's oversight are ocean common carriers and marine
terminal operators operating in the foreign oceanborne commerce of the
United States.
Number of Annual Respondents: Over the last five years the
Commission has averaged 358 agreement filings a year from an estimated
potential universe of 764 regulated entities. Starting in mid-1996,
certain agreements are required to file quarterly monitoring reports
under these regulations. The number of annual respondents under this
program will vary according to the number of agreements subject to the
reporting obligation. Last year, 235 agreements were subject; they
filed 940 monitoring reports.
Estimated Time Per Response: The time for preparing and filing an
agreements can range anywhere from as little as three staff-hours to as
much as 150 staff-hours. The estimated average burden per respondent is
90 staff-hours. Time required for preparing monitoring reports varies
according to the complexity of the filing obligation. Class C
agreements have the least burden, and it is estimated to be about 20
staff-hours. Class A/B agreements require more specific data and hence
a greater burden. It is estimated that Class B monitoring reports
require about 120 staff-hours, and Class A reports about 160 staff-
hours. Estimated time per respondent under the record-keeping
obligations of the regulation is five staff-hours.
Total Annual Burden: The total annual burden on respondents is
estimated at 115,000 staff-hours, 110,000 staff-hours as the filing
burden, and 5,000 staff-hours as the record-keeping burden. These
estimates are based on anticipated filings over the next year.
OMB Approval Number: 3072-0001 (Expires May 31, 1998).
Abstract: Qualified persons who desire to practice before the
Commission must complete and file Form FMC-12 (Application for
Admission to Practice before the Federal Maritime Commission) with the
Commission.
Needs and Uses: The Commission uses data contained in the
application to determine to whether applicant have the necessary
qualifications to enable them to represent others in matters before the
Commission.
Frequency: The collection of the information is on a one-time only
basis.
Type of Respondents: Persons desiring to practice before the
Commission in quasi-judicial hearings.
Number of annual respondents: The Commission estimates there are
approximately 10 respondents annually for this one-time response.
Estimated Time per response: Approximately one hour.
Total Annual Burden: Ten manhours per year.
Before the Commission submits these renewal packages to the Office
of Management and Budget, the Commission is inviting public, written
comments on: (a) whether the proposed collections of information are
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the
accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates for the proposed
collections of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collections of the information on
respondents, including through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Ronald D. Murphy,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-33615 Filed 12-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6730-01-M
