Notice2023-19175
Agency Information Collection Activities: Approval of Information Collection
Primary source
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Published
September 6, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments on our intention to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an information collection in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This collection is necessary for administration of the Reconnecting Communities (RCP) and Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) Discretionary Grant Programs and funding opportunities. Together, these programs are known as "Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN)" in the combined NOFO. RCN provides federal financial assistance for surface transportation infrastructure projects. Through RCP, this includes removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation facilities such as highways and rail lines that create barriers to community connectivity including to mobility, access, or economic development. Through NAE, this includes the RCP eligibilities, with the further ability to reduce burdens such as GHG emissions, hot spot areas, gaps in tree canopy coverage, and other natural environment concerns.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61007-61010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19175]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2023-0063]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Approval of Information
Collection
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), DOT.
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments
on our intention to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
approval for an information collection in accordance with the
[[Page 61008]]
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This collection is
necessary for administration of the Reconnecting Communities (RCP) and
Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) Discretionary Grant Programs and
funding opportunities. Together, these programs are known as
``Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN)'' in the combined
NOFO. RCN provides federal financial assistance for surface
transportation infrastructure projects. Through RCP, this includes
removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation facilities such as
highways and rail lines that create barriers to community connectivity
including to mobility, access, or economic development. Through NAE,
this includes the RCP eligibilities, with the further ability to reduce
burdens such as GHG emissions, hot spot areas, gaps in tree canopy
coverage, and other natural environment concerns.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by November 6, 2023.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit them by only one of the following means:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
<bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W-12-140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
Instructions: To ensure proper docketing of your comment, please
include the agency name and docket number [DOT-OST-2023-0063] at the
beginning of your comments. All comments received will be posted
without change to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal
information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding this
notice, please contact the Office of the Secretary via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f2a097919d9c9c9791869b9c95b19d9f9f879c9b869b9781b2969d86dc959d84"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="edbf888e828383888e9984838aae8280809883849984889ead898299c38a829b">[email protected]</span></a> or contact Andrew Emanuele at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4726292335223069222a262932222b220723283369202831"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4829262c3a2d3f662d2529263d2d242d082c273c662f273e">[email protected]</span></a> or 202-366-0622. A TDD is available for
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing at 202-366-3993.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: New Collection. OMB number will be issued
after the collection is approved.
Title: Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and Neighborhood
Access and Equity Program (Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods
(RCN) Discretionary Grants.
Form Numbers: None.
Type of Review: New Information Collection Request (ICR).
Background: The Office of the Secretary (``OST'') within the
Department of Transportation (DOT) provides financial assistance for
surface transportation infrastructure projects--including removing,
retrofitting, or mitigating transportation facilities such as highways
and rail lines that create barriers to community connectivity including
to mobility, access, or economic development. The Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, November 15, 2021) (Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, or BIL) provided funds to the Department to invest
in planning and capital construction grants to reduce transportation
barriers: the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, found under
section 11509 of division A. The Inflation Reduction Act (Pub. L. 117-
169, August 16, 2022) (IRA) provided funds to the Department for the
NAE to invest in planning and construction grants to improve the
walkability, safety, and provide affordable access: the Neighborhood
Access & Equity grant program, found at 23 U.S.C. 177: To help
streamline the process for applicants, the Department has combined the
applications for the RCP and NAE programs into the RCN common
application.
The DOT combined these two programs into one single Notice of
Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to provide a more efficient application
process for project sponsors. While they remain separate programs for
the purposes of award, the programs share many common characteristics.
Because of these shared characteristics, it is possible for many
projects to be eligible and considered for multiple programs using a
single application.
This notice seeks comments on the proposed information collection,
which will collect information necessary to support the ongoing
oversight and administration of previous awards, a Letter of Intent
screening tool, the evaluation and selection of new applications, the
funding agreement negotiation stage for new awards, and the evaluation
of the programs. The reporting requirements for the program is as
follows:
Prior to applying, a project sponsor may fill out a ``Letter of
Intent'' screening tool to help determine eligibility for one or both
programs within the RCN NOFO or help direct them to a more appropriate
grant program.
To be considered to receive an RCN grant, a project sponsor must
submit an application to DOT containing a project narrative, as
detailed in the NOFO. The project narrative should include the
information necessary for the Department to determine that the project
satisfies eligibility requirements as warranted by law.
After the award announcement the Department will send out a
voluntary survey to all applicants and webinar participants to help
evaluate the application process.
Following the announcement of a funding award, the recipient and
DOT will negotiate and sign a funding agreement with awardees. In the
agreement, the recipient must describe the project that DOT agreed to
fund, which is the project that was described in the RCN application or
a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement also includes
project schedule milestones, a budget, and project-related climate
change, equity, and workforce planning and policies.
During the project monitoring stage, grantees will submit reports
on the financial condition of the project and the project's progress.
Grantees will submit progress and monitoring reports to the Government
on a quarterly basis until completion of the project. The progress
reports will include an SF-425, Federal Financial Report, and other
information determined by the administering DOT Operating
Administration. This information will be used to monitor grantees' use
of Federal funds, ensuring accountability and financial transparency in
the RCN programs.
For Post Construction Reporting, the DOT will evaluate the program
for recipients of capital construction grants and include the outcomes
and impacts of the highway removal project, The report will document
any changes in the overall level of mobility, congestion, access, and
safety in the project area, and environmental impacts and economic
development opportunities in the project area. Performance reporting
continues for several years after project construction is completed in
which DOT will not provide grant funding specifically for performance
reporting.
For the purposes of estimating the information collection burden
below for new applicants and awardees, the Department is assuming that
for each year 2023-2025, the Department will review approximately 1,000
applications and negotiate 100 funding agreements. Quarterly project
[[Page 61009]]
monitoring will also exist for the 45 RCP projects awarded in FY22. For
a detailed breakdown of burden hours, please see Table 1.
Table 1
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Year 1 (2023) Year 2 (2024) Year 3 (2025)
Respondent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total hrs.
# Hrs. Freq. # Hrs. Freq. # Hrs. Freq.
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Letter of Intent.............................................. 600 0.5 1 ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 300
Applicants.................................................... 1,000 100 1 ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 100,000
Survey........................................................ 700 0.5 1 ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 350
Awardee Funding Agreements.................................... ........... ........... ........... 100 6 1 ........... ........... ........... 600
Quarterly Monitoring (2022)................................... 45 5 4 ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 900
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Letter of Intent.............................................. ........... ........... ........... 600 0.5 1 ........... ........... ........... 300
Applicants.................................................... ........... ........... ........... 1,000 100 1 ........... ........... ........... 100,000
Survey........................................................ ........... ........... ........... 700 0.5 1 ........... ........... ........... 350
Awardee Funding Agreements.................................... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 100 6 1 600
Quarterly Monitoring (2022 & 2023)............................ ........... ........... ........... 145 5 4 ........... ........... ........... 2,900
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Letter of Intent.............................................. ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 250 0.5 1 125
Applicants.................................................... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 435 100 1 43,500
Survey........................................................ ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 300 0.5 1 150
Awardee Funding Agreements.................................... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ...........
Quarterly Monitoring (2022, 2023, 2024)....................... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 245 5 4 4,900
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Grand Total............................................... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... 254,975
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The Department's estimated burden for this information collection
is the following:
For Letter of Intent Screening Tool
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 600 in Year 1 and 2.
DOT expects 250 in Year 3 with depletion of NAE funding by then,
reducing those using the tool.
Frequency: Once.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: .5 hours.
For New Applications
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 1,000 in Year 1 and
2. 435 are expected for Year 3 with depletion of NAE funding.
Frequency: Once.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 hours for each new
Application;
For Program Evaluation (Survey)
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 700 in Year 1 and 2.
300 in Year 3.
Frequency: Once.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 0.5 hours for each
application;
For Funding Agreements
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 100 in Year 1 and 2.
Frequency: Once.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 6 hours for each new Funding
Agreement;
For Quarterly Project Monitoring
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 45 in Year 1. 100 in
Year 2 and Year 3.
Frequency: Quarterly.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 5 hours for each request for
Quarterly Progress and Monitoring Report;
For Post-Construction Project Monitoring
Because RCN expect no projects to complete construction by 2025,
post-construction monitoring hours and cost are not computed in this
document.
Estimated Total 3-Year Burden on Respondents: 254,975 Hours
<bullet> Letter of Intent [825 hrs]
<bullet> New Applicants [242,000 hrs]
<bullet> Survey [850 hrs]
<bullet> New Awardee Funding Agreements [1,200 hrs]
<bullet> Prior Awardee Quarterly Project Monitoring [8,700]
The following is detailed information and instructions regarding
the specific reporting requirements for each report identified above:
Letter of Intent Screening Stage
To help applicants determine their eligiblity for the RCN combined
grant opportunity, OST will develop and use the ``Letter of Intent''
tool to help applicants determine eligiblity for the programs or what
application materials they may be missing. The Letter of Intent
screening tool will save potential applicants hundreds of hours of
application development time if the project has a ``fatal flaw'' that
would render it ineligible. The Letter of Intent tool will consist of
10-20 questions and takes .5 hrs to fill out.
Application Stage
To be considered to receive a RCN grant, a project sponsor must
apply to DOT containing a project narrative, as detailed in the NOFO.
The project narrative should include the information necessary for the
Department to determine that the project satisfies eligibility
requirements.
Applications must be submitted through <a href="http://www.valideval.com">www.valideval.com</a>.
Instructions for submitting Planning or Capital applications can be
found at <a href="https://usg.valideval.com/teams/rcn_planning/signup">https://usg.valideval.com/teams/rcn_planning/signup</a> or <a href="https://usg.valideval.com/teams/rcn_captialconstruction/signup">https://usg.valideval.com/teams/rcn_captialconstruction/signup</a>, respectively.
The application must
[[Page 61010]]
include the Standard Form 424 (Application for Federal Assistance),
Standard Form 424C (Budget Information for Construction Programs),
cover page, and the Project Narrative.
The application should include a table of contents, maps, and
graphics, as appropriate, to make the information easier to review. The
Department recommends that the application be prepared with standard
formatting preferences (i.e., a single-spaced document, using a
standard 12-point font such as Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins).
The only substantive portions that may exceed the page limit are
documents supporting assertions or conclusions made in the project
narrative. If possible, website links to supporting documentation
should be provided rather than copies of these supporting materials. If
supporting documents are submitted, applicants should clearly identify
within the project narrative the relevant portion of the project
narrative that each supporting document supports. At the applicant's
discretion, relevant materials provided previously to a modal
administration in support of a different USDOT financial assistance
program may be referenced and described as unchanged.
OST estimates that it takes approximately 100 person-hours to
compile an application package for a RCN application. Since OST expects
to receive 1000 applications per funding round, the total hours
required are estimated to be 50,00 hours (100 hours x 1,000
applications = 100,000 hours) on a one-time basis, per funding round.
Program Evaluation Stage (Survey)
To understand the RCN grant process from the applicant's point of
view, OST plans to send out a survey after all award decisions have
been made. This survey will go to all applicants, both successful and
unsuccessful, and will take approximately .5 hours to complete.
Funding Agreement Stage
DOT enters a funding agreement with each recipient. In the
agreement, the recipient describes the project that DOT agreed to fund,
which is typically the project that was described in the RCN
application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement
also includes a project schedule, budget, and project related climate
change and equity planning and policies.
OST estimates that it takes approximately 6 person-hours to respond
to provide the information necessary for funding agreements. Based on
previous rounds of RCN awards, OST estimates that there will likely be
100 agreements negotiated per additional funding round. The total hours
required are estimated to be 600 (6 hours x 100 agreements = 600 hours)
on a one-time basis, per funding round.
Project Monitoring Stage
OST requires each recipient to submit quarterly reports during the
project to ensure the proper and timely expenditure of federal funds
under the grant.
The requirements comply with 2 CFR part 200 and are restated in the
funding agreement. During the project monitoring stage, the grantee
will complete Quarterly Progress Reports to allow DOT to monitor the
project budget and schedule.
OST estimates that it takes approximately 5 person-hours to develop
and submit a quarterly progress report. OST awarded 45 recipients and
awardees in 2022. OST expects approximately 100 projects to be awarded
per funding round.
Post Construction Monitoring Stage
For Post Construction Reporting, the DOT will evaluate the program
for recipients of capital construction grants and include the outcomes
and impacts of the highway removal project, The report will document
any changes in the overall level of mobility, congestion, access, and
safety in the project area, and environmental impacts and economic
development opportunities in the project area. Because RCN expect no
projects to complete construction by 2025, post-construction monitoring
hours and cost are not computed in this document.
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 August 31st, 2023.
John Augustine,
Director of the Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, Office
of the Under Secretary for Transportation Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-19175 Filed 9-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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