2018-20521. Hazardous Materials: Information Collection Activities

AGENCY:

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on a new information collection pertaining to hazardous materials transportation for which PHMSA intends to request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). PHMSA received five comments in response to the 60-Day Notice, all of which were outside the scope of this information collection request.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments regarding the burden estimate, including suggestions for reducing the burden, identified by Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0020 (Notice No. 2018-13), by any of the following methods:

• Mail: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for DOT-PHMSA, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.
• Fax: [phone].
• Email to [e-mail].

We invite comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) 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.

Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Andrews or Shelby Geller, Standards and Rulemaking Division, [phone], Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires PHMSA to provide interested members of the public and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies a new information collect request that PHMSA will be submitting to OMB. This information collection will be contained in 49 CFR 171.6 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). PHMSA will revise burden estimates, where appropriate, to reflect current reporting levels or adjustments based on changes in proposed or final rules published once the information collection is approved. The following information is provided for this information collection: (1) Title of the information collection; (2) summary of the information collection activity; (3) description of affected public; (4) estimate of total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden; and (5) frequency of collection. PHMSA will request a 3-year approval for this information collection activity and will publish a notice in the Federal Register upon OMB's approval. PHMSA requests comments on the following information collection:

Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.

Abstract: The information collection activity will garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Department's commitment to improving service delivery. Qualitative feedback is information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide insight into customer or stakeholder perceptions, opinions, experiences, and expectations, as well as an early warning of issues with service or focus attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable communications between PHMSA and customers and stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management. Feedback or information collected under this generic clearance will provide useful information, but it will not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population.

The Department will submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:

• The collections are voluntary.
• The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government.
• The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies.
• Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the near future.
• Personally identifiable information is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.
• Information gathered is intended to be used only internally for general service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended for release outside of the Department (if released, the Department must indicate the qualitative nature of the information).

This type of generic clearance for qualitative information will not be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing potential nonresponse bias, the protocols for data collection, and any testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative results.

Type of Review: New.

Affected Public: Individuals and households, businesses and organizations, State, Local or Tribal Governments.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,000.

Estimated Annual Responses: 6,000.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 3,000.

Frequency of Collection: One-time requirement.

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2018.

William S. Schoonover,

Associate Administrator of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.