Under the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended by the ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104-88, 109 Stat. 803 (1995), and Section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1247(d) (Trails Act), persons seeking to preserve rail service may file pleadings before the Board to acquire or subsidize a rail line for continued service, or to impose a trail use or public use condition. More specifically, when a line is proposed for abandonment, affected shippers, communities, or other interested persons may seek to preserve rail service by filing with the Board: an offer of financial assistance to subsidize or purchase a rail line for which a railroad is seeking abandonment (49 U.S.C. § 10904), including a request for the Board to set terms and conditions of the financial assistance; a request for a public use condition (§ 10905); or a trail-use request under the Trails Act. Similarly, when a line is placed on a system diagram map identifying it as an anticipated or potential candidate for abandonment, affected shippers, communities, or other interested persons may seek to preserve rail service by filing with the Board a feeder line application to purchase the identified rail line (§ 10907). (Railroad owning the rail line subject to abandonment must, in some circumstances, provide information to the applicant or offeror.) The collection also encompasses certain notifications to the agency under the Trails Act and related regulations.
US Code:
49 USC 10904
Name of Law: Offer of Financial Assistance
US Code:
49 USC 10905
Name of Law: Public Use Condition Request
US Code:
16 USC 1247(d)
Name of Law: Trails Use Request
US Code:
49 USC 10907
Name of Law: Feeder Line Application
This is an existing collection, which is being adjusted to update the burdens and costs based on the actual number of recent filings. The burdens associated with the merged collection (2140-0017) have also been incorporated.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.