TSA Publishes 60-Day ICR Notice for Rail Security Program

Today the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published in the Federal Register (77 FR 2077-2078) their 60-day notice of intent to renew their information collection request (ICR) for the rail transportation security program operated under 49 CFR 1580. The current ICR authority is scheduled to expire on April 30^th, 2012.

Description of Collection Requirements

This ICR allows TSA to collect information on four separate reporting requirements in that program. Those information collections are:

• Chain of Custody Documentation for transfers of railcars carrying ‘rail security-sensitive materials (RSSM) between shippers, carriers and receivers in High Threat Urban Areas (HTUA) (§1580.107);

• Location and Shipping Information Reporting Burden for railcars carrying RSSM (§1580.103);

• Security Concerns Reporting including security incidents, suspicious activities, and threat information (§1580.105); and

• Rail Security Coordinator (RSC) Annual Reporting RSC designations and contact information (§1580.101).

NOTE: All of the CFR references listed above are only for the freight rail security program. This ICR also includes similar requirements for the last two collections for passenger rail systems.

This notice claims that the total annual burden for this ICR is 54,023 hours. This is a significant change from the original burden estimate included in the initial ICR submission back in 2008. That submission provided the following burden estimates for the four collections:

Original ICR Burden Estimates
Collection	Respondents	Responses	Burden Hours
Chain of Custody Documentation	50	18,200	219,000
Location and Shipping Information Reporting Burden	15	150	150
Security Concerns Reporting	69,483	69,483	69,483
RSC Annual Reporting Burden	945	312	312
Total		88,145	288,945

TSA should have included a more detailed description of the burden estimates in this ICR notice, especially as regards significant changes in those estimates from the current approved ICR.

Public Comments

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act requirements, TSA is requesting public comments on their intent to renew this ICR. Public comments may be submitted by email to the TSA PRA Officer (TSAPRA@dhs.gov). Comments need to be submitted by March 13^th to allow for an appropriate response in the required 30-day ICR notice.