Notice2021-19945
Notice of Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Modification of Existing Information Collection
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 16, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published June 24, 2021, and the comment period ended August 23, 2021. One comment related to the ICR was submitted into the docket. The comment proposed striking the existing requirement that an original Application should be provided in three-hole punch binders as part of the application process. The Build America Bureau has accepted this comment and removed the requirement that an original Application should be provided in three-hole punch binders for each loan application.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51717-51719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19945]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2021-0075]
Notice of Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities;
Modification of Existing Information Collection
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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[[Page 51718]]
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR)
abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a
60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information
collection was published June 24, 2021, and the comment period ended
August 23, 2021. One comment related to the ICR was submitted into the
docket. The comment proposed striking the existing requirement that an
original Application should be provided in three-hole punch binders as
part of the application process. The Build America Bureau has accepted
this comment and removed the requirement that an original Application
should be provided in three-hole punch binders for each loan
application.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted directly to the OMB by
October 18, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to the attention of the
DOT/OST Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#27686e7566785452454a4e54544e484967484a450942485709404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0847415a49577b7d6a65617b7b6167664867656a266d6778266f677e">[email protected]</span></a> with the associated OMB Control Number
2105-0569.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Approval No.: 2138-0013.
Title: Letter of Interest and Application Forms for the Railroad
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing and Transportation
Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act Credit Programs.
Type of Review: Modification of existing information collection.
Background: The RRIF credit program has its origins in Title V of
the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, 45
U.S.C. 821 et seq., which authorized the Federal Railroad
Administration to provide railroads certain financial assistance. This
Title V financing program was replaced by the RRIF program under
section 7203 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century of
1998, Public Law 105-178 (1998) (TEA 21). RRIF was subsequently amended
by: The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users, Public Law 109-59 (2005) (SAFETEA-LU); the
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Division A of Public Law 110-432;
and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114-94)
(2015) (FAST Act). All applicants for RRIF credit program assistance
are required to submit a completed application. 45 U.S.C. 823(a). The
information collection activity request for the RRIF credit program
application was most recently approved in 2018 (OMB Control Number
2105-0569). See 83 FR 23525 and 83 FR 35534.
The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of
1998 was enacted as part of TEA 21. The TIFIA program was subsequently
amended by SAFETEA-LU, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century Act (Pub. L. 112-141) (2012) (MAP-21), and the FAST Act. All
applicants for TIFIA credit program assistance are required to submit a
completed Letter of Interest (LOI) and application. 23 U.S.C.
602(a)(1)(A). The existing information collection activity request for
the TIFIA credit program letter of interest and application was most
recently approved in 2018 (OMB Control Number 2105-0569). See 83 FR
23525 and 83 FR 35534.
The National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau
(referenced hereafter as the Build America Bureau or the Bureau),
established by the Secretary on July 20, 2016, in accordance with the
FAST Act, was created to streamline and improve access to the
Department's Federal credit programs, including RRIF and TIFIA. The
Bureau was made responsible for administering the application processes
for the TIFIA and RRIF credit programs. To streamline and conform these
application processes, the Bureau created a single LOI form and a
single application form that can be used by applicants of either credit
program. Both the LOI form and the application form have been updated
to reflect efficiencies in the application process adopted by the
Department, provide clarifying information, and make the forms easier
for applicants to use. Because some key statutory differences exist
between the two programs' application processes and eligibility
criteria, the forms have been reorganized to clearly identify where an
item of information applies only for one of the programs and need not
be answered by applicants of the other program. The Department seeks
OMB approval to modify the LOI and application. The forms have also
been reviewed to ensure that all information requested is necessary for
the Department to properly perform its functions in administering its
credit programs and updated to reflect the current statutory
requirements.
The LOI asks the applicant to describe, among other things, the
project and its location, purpose and cost; the proposed financial
plan, the status of environmental review, and certain information
regarding satisfaction of other eligibility requirements under the
applicable credit program. The application serves as the official
request for credit and, therefore, requires the same information
required of the LOI, plus detailed information about the applicant's
legal and management structure, its financial health, the revenue
stream pledged to repay the loan, and other information regarding
satisfaction of eligibility requirements. TIFIA and RRIF credit
assistance is awarded based on a project's satisfaction of TIFIA and
RRIF (as applicable) eligibility requirements. The Department is
authorized to prescribe the form and contents of the LOI and
application. 45 U.S.C. 823 and 23 U.S.C. 601(a)(6).
Respondents: State and local governments, transit agencies,
government-sponsored authorities, special authorities, special
districts, ports, private railroads, and certain other private
entities.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: Based on the number and
type of interested stakeholders that have contacted the Department
about the RRIF and TIFIA programs in fiscal years (FY) 2018-2021, the
Department estimates that it will receive, on an annual basis, eight
(8) RRIF LOIs, twelve (12) TIFIA LOIs, eight (8) RRIF applications, and
twelve (12) TIFIA applications.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The Department estimates that
it will generally take applicants not fewer than twenty (20) person-
hours to assemble a single LOI (for either credit program) and not
fewer than one hundred (100) person-hours to assemble a single
application (for either credit program). (Person-hour estimates
provided for a RRIF application assume that the applicant will
initially submit an LOI, reducing the number of person-hours spent on
the application.) Based on the anticipated annual total number of
respondents, the total annual hour burden of this collection for RRIF
LOIs and applications is 960 and for TIFIA LOIs and applications is
1,440 hours.
Frequency of Collection: This information collection will occur on
a rolling basis as interested entities seek RRIF or TIFIA credit
assistance.
Public Comments Invited: The Department invites interested
respondents to comment on a proposed information collection activity
(summarized below) with respect to: (i) Whether the information
collection activities are necessary for the Department to properly
execute its functions, including whether the
[[Page 51719]]
activities will have practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the
Department's estimates of the burden of the information collection
activities, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used to determine the estimates; (iii) ways for the Department to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information being
collected; and (iv) ways for the Department to minimize the burden of
information collection activities on the public by automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv); 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). The Department believes that soliciting public
comment will promote its efforts to reduce the administrative and
paperwork burdens associated with the collection of information
mandated by Federal regulations. In summary, the Department reasons
that comments received will advance three objectives: (i) Reduce
reporting burdens; (ii) ensure that it organizes information collection
requirements in a ``user friendly'' format to improve the use of such
information; and (iii) accurately assess the resources expended to
retrieve and produce information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2021.
Morteza Farajian,
Executive Director, the Build America Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2021-19945 Filed 9-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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