Notice2022-00334
Agency Request for Emergency Approval of an 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
January 11, 2022
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Transportation (DOT) provides notice that it will submit an information collection requests (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency approval of a proposed information collection. Upon receiving the requested six-month emergency approval by OMB, the Office of the Secretary (OST) will follow the normal PRA procedures to obtain extended approval for this proposed information collection. This collection involves applicants to submit a proposal for discretionary grant funding, under the "National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, November 15, 2021, "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law", or "BIL". OST is requesting emergency approval due to the urgency of making the associated funds available to applicants that meet the eligibility requirements under the law. The continued viability of these funds is critical in supporting the transportation infrastructure needs across the United States. The statutory requirements of the BIL also establish a strict 90-day timeframe from the date of enactment to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1477-1479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00334]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2021-0166]
Agency Request for Emergency Approval of an Information
Collection
AGENCY: Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Department of Transportation (DOT) provides notice that it will submit
an information collection requests (ICR) to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for emergency approval of a proposed information
collection. Upon receiving the requested six-month emergency approval
by OMB, the Office of the Secretary (OST) will follow the normal PRA
procedures to obtain extended approval for this proposed information
collection. This collection involves applicants to submit a proposal
for discretionary grant funding, under the ``National Infrastructure
Project Assistance Program, established by the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, November 15, 2021, ``Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law'', or ``BIL''. OST is requesting emergency approval
due to the urgency of making the associated funds available to
applicants that meet the eligibility requirements under the law. The
continued viability of these funds is critical in supporting the
transportation infrastructure needs across the United States. The
statutory requirements of the BIL also establish a strict 90-day
timeframe from the date of enactment to publish a Notice of Funding
Opportunity.
DATES: Comments should be submitted as soon as possible upon
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments and questions should be directed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Attn: OST OMB Desk Officer,
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Comments and questions about
the ICR identified below may be transmitted electronically to OIRA at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f996908b98a68a8c9b94908a8a9096978ab996949bd79c9689d79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8d7d1cad9e7cbcddad5d1cbcbd1d7d6cbf8d7d5da96ddd7c896dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information related to this ICR,
including applicable supporting documentation may be obtained by
contacting John Augustine, Office of Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation in the office of the Under Secretary for Transportation
Policy (OST-P-40), W84-306, Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-5437.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. chapter 35; as amended) and 5 CFR part 1320 require each Federal
agency to obtain OMB approval to initiate an information collection
activity. DOT is seeking OMB approval for the following DOT information
collection activity:
OMB Control Number: 2105-XXXX.
Title: National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program.
Form Numbers: New Collection.
Type of Review: Emergency information collection request.
Expected Number of Respondents: 100.
Frequency: One-time application, to be followed by grant agreement
execution, reimbursement of funds, and project closeout.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 (application submission,
grant agreement execution, project management, and project evaluation/
reporting).
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 10,000.
Abstract: On November 15, 2021 the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-58) ``Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
(BIL)'' was enacted. Section 6701 established the National
Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, to provide capital
investments in surface transportation infrastructure that will have a
significant local or regional impact.
Application Stage
In order to be considered to receive a grant, a project sponsor
must submit an application to OST containing a project narrative, as
detailed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The project narrative
should include the information necessary for the
[[Page 1478]]
Department to determine that the project satisfies eligibility
requirements as warranted by law.
The Department will receive applications and reports electronically
via email and via websites from grant awardees upon approval from OMB.
In order to minimize the burden on applicants, OMB approved standard
forms are being used to collect information where possible. Such
standard forms include the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424),
available online at <a href="https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf">https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf</a>, and the post-award Federal Financial Reports form
(SF-425), available online at <a href="https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF425_2_0-V2.0.pdf">https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF425_2_0-V2.0.pdf</a>.
All information submitted as part of or in support of any
application shall use publicly available data or data that can be made
public. If the application includes information the applicant considers
to be a trade secret or confidential commercial or financial
information, the applicant should do the following: (1) Note on the
front cover that the submission ``Contains Confidential Business
Information (CBI)''; (2) mark each affected page ``CBI''; and (3)
highlight or otherwise denote the CBI portions. DOT protects such
information from disclosure to the extent allowed under applicable law.
In the event DOT receives a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
for the information, DOT will follow the procedures described in its
FOIA regulations at 49 CFR 7.17. Only information that is ultimately
determined to be confidential under that procedure will be exempt from
disclosure under FOIA. This grant program is voluntary. No stakeholder
is required to participate. However, participating stakeholders will be
expected to provide the following information.
The Department will collect the following information:
<bullet> Legal name of the applicant (i.e., the legal name of the
business entity), as well as any other identities under which the
applicant may be doing business.
<bullet> Address, telephone, and email contact information for the
applicant.
<bullet> Name and title of the authorized representative of the
applicant (who will attest to the required certifications).
<bullet> DOT may also require the identity of external parties
involved in preparation of the application, who may be assisting the
applicant that is applying for assistance under this program.
<bullet> The specific statutory criteria that the applicant meets
for eligibility under this program.
[cir] The statute defines eligible applicants to include States,
the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; the United States Virgin
Islands; American Samoa; and, any other territory or possession of the
United States; a unit of local government; a metropolitan planning
organization; a unit of local government; a political subdivision of a
State; a special purpose district or public authority with a
transportation function, including a port authority; a Tribal
government or a consortium of Tribal governments; a partnership between
Amtrak and 1 or more entities described above; and a group of entities
described above.
[cir] The statute defines eligible projects to include:
(A) A highway or bridge project carried out on: (i) The National
Multimodal Freight Network established under section 70103; (ii) the
National Highway Freight Network established under section 167 of title
23; or (iii) the National Highway System (as defined in section 101(a)
of title 23);
(B) a freight intermodal (including public ports) or freight rail
project that provides a public benefit;
(C) a railway-highway grade separation or elimination project;
(D) an intercity passenger rail project;
(E) a public transportation project that is: (i) Eligible for
assistance under chapter 53; and (ii) part of a project described in
any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); or
(F) a grouping, combination, or program of interrelated, connected,
or dependent projects of any of the projects described in subparagraphs
(A) through (E); and the eligible project costs of which are: (A)
Reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $500,000,000; or (B) for any
project funded by the set-aside under subsection (m)(2): (i) More than
$100,000,000; but (ii) less than $500,000,000.
<bullet> The specific statutory criteria for the applicant's
location:
[cir] Whether the applicant is located in an urban or rural area,
as defined by the statute and outlined in the Notice of Funding
Opportunity. This information and supporting documentation will be
required to ensure geographical diversity, and a balance between rural
and urban communities.
[cir] Whether the applicant is located in an area of persistent
poverty and/or a historically disadvantaged community.
<bullet> A narrative description of how the project aligns with the
program criteria.
<bullet> Criteria include the extent to which the project: Supports
achieving a state of good repair; the level of benefits the project is
expected to generate; the benefits as compared to the costs; the number
of persons or volume of freight supported by the project; national and
regional economic benefits; as well as additional considerations,
including: Contributions to geographical diversity the including a
balance between the needs of urban/rural areas; whether multiple states
would benefit from a project; whether, and the degree to which, a
project uses: Construction materials/approaches that have: Demonstrated
GHG reductions, and a reduced the need for maintenance of other
projects; technologies that will allow for future connectivity and
automation; whether a project benefits: A historically disadvantaged
community or population or an area or persistent poverty; whether a
project benefits users of multiple modes, including: Pedestrians,
bicyclists, and users of non-vehicular rail and public transportation,
including intercity and commuter rail; whether a project improves
connectivity between modes of transportation moving persons or goods
nationally or regionally.
<bullet> A detailed project budget, including the grant request
amount, other Federal funds, and non-Federal contributions. DOT
requires this information to calculate the cost share requirements
outlined in statute. Applicants will be required to provide supporting
documentation in sufficient detail to describe the project cost
breakdown.
<bullet> A plan for the collection and analysis of data to
identify: The impacts of the project; and the accuracy of any forecast
prepared during the development phase of the project and included in
the grant application.
<bullet> Other identification numbers, such as their Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number, Unique Entity Identifier under 2 CFR
part 25, etc. All applicants will be required to have pre-registered
with the System for Award Management (SAM) at <a href="https://sam.gov/SAM/">https://sam.gov/SAM/</a>.
Grant Agreement Stage
[[Page 1479]]
The grant agreement is an agreement between DOT and the recipient.
In the grant agreement, the recipient must describe the project that
DOT agreed to fund, which is typically the project that was described
in the application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The
grant agreement must also include a detailed breakdown of the project
schedule and a budget listing all major activities that will be
completed as part of the project.
Project Management Stage
The reporting requirements under this stage are necessary to ensure
the proper and timely expenditure of federal funds within the scope of
the approved project. The requirements comply with the Common Grant
Rule, and are also included in sections of the grant agreement. During
the project management stage, the grantee will complete Quarterly
Progress and Monitoring Reports to ensure that the project budget and
schedule will be maintained to the maximum extent possible, that the
project will be completed with the highest degree of quality, and that
compliance with Federal regulations will be met. The substantive
requirements of the report include: The project's overall status;
project significant activities and issues; action items/outstanding
issues; project scope overview; project schedule; project cost; an SF-
425 Federal Financial Report; and certifications. This reporting
requirement will greatly reduce the need for on-site visits by staff.
Project Evaluation Stage
The reporting requirement under this stage is necessary to assess
the long-term impact of the project by comparing the baseline data
provided in the data collection plan as required in the application to
project data collected during the five (5) years after project
completion. This electronic spreadsheet report is collected once, at
least five (5) years after project completion from grantees to help
measure the effectiveness of the grants as a program. Information
provided will allow the Government to analyze project performance.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.
chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.
Issued in Washington, DC.
John Augustine,
Director, Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, Office of
the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00334 Filed 1-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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