Notice2024-01028
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
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 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council
Abstract
The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) Executive Director invites the public and Federal agencies to comment on a proposed information collection request which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The Permitting Council publishes this notice in the Federal Register and invites comments in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3653-3654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01028]
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FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT STEERING COUNCIL
[ICR Ref. No. 202312-3121-001; OMB Control No. 3121-002]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council
(Permitting Council) Executive Director invites the public and Federal
agencies to comment on a proposed information collection request which
is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The Permitting
Council publishes this notice in the Federal Register and invites
comments in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Please send your comments to the Permitting Council Executive
Director on or before March 19, 2024. The Permitting Council Executive
Director is soliciting comment on any aspect of this information
collection, including: (a) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c) the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. The Permitting Council Executive Director will
consider all comments and
[[Page 3654]]
suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication, and will
summarize and/or include the comments received in any request for
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this information
collection.
ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c08592898680a6b0a9b3a3eea7afb6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7e3b2c37383e180e170d1d50191108">[email protected]</span></a> with the
subject line: ``ERIF TAP Information Collection Comment.'' You may
obtain copies of the proposed collection of information by emailing
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3b6a1bab5b395839a8090dd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="febbacb7b8be988e978d9dd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>. Please identify all requests by including ``ERIF TAP''
in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Flores, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b0dadfd8de9ed6dcdfc2d5c3f0d6c0d9c3d39ed7dfc6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="771d181f1959111b180512043711071e041459101801">[email protected]</span></a>,
or (385) 602-2138.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of the Program Seeking Information Collection: Environmental
Review Improvement Fund Tribal Assistance Program (ERIF TAP).
Type of Review: New Information Collection Request (ICR).
Background: Established in 2015 by title 41 of the Fixing America's
Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), 42 U.S.C. 4370m et seq., the
Permitting Council is a unique Federal agency charged with improving
the transparency and predictability of the Federal environmental review
and authorization process for certain infrastructure projects. The
Permitting Council is comprised of the Permitting Council Executive
Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 Federal agency Council
members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries
of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation,
Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the
OMB. 42 U.S.C. 4370m-1(a) & (b).
The Permitting Council coordinates Federal environmental reviews
\1\ and authorizations \2\ for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-
41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive
permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of
those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard in compliance with
FAST-41 procedural requirements. 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(c) & (d). Sponsors
of FAST-41 covered projects also benefit from the direct engagement of
the Permitting Council Executive Director and the Permitting Council
members in timely identification and resolution of permitting issues
that affect covered projects' permitting timetables.
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\1\ 42 U.S.C. 4370m(11) (defining ``environmental review'' as
``the agency procedures and processes for applying a categorical
exclusion or for preparing an environmental assessment, an
environmental impact statement, or other document required under
[the National Environmental Policy Act]'').
\2\ 42 U.S.C. 4370m(3) (defining ``authorization'' as ``any
license, permit, approval, finding, determination, or other
administrative decision issued by an agency and any interagency
consultation that is required or authorized under Federal law in
order to site, construct, reconstruct, or commence operations of a
covered project administered by a Federal agency or, in the case of
a State that chooses to participate in the environmental review and
authorization process in accordance with [42 U.S.C.] 4370m-
2(c)(3)(A) . . . , a State agency'').
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The Permitting Council Executive Director, with the approval of the
OMB Director, also may transfer funds from the Environmental Review and
Improvement Fund (ERIF) to Federal agencies and state, local, and
tribal governments to make the environmental review and authorization
process for FAST-41 covered projects more timely and efficient. 42
U.S.C. 4370m-8(d)(3). Executive Director has established the ERIF
Tribal Assistance Program (TAP) to facilitate the distribution of ERIF
funds to Tribal governments pursuant to this authority.
This collection is necessary for administration of the ERIF TAP in
accordance with 42 U.S.C. 4370m-8(d)(3). The Executive Director seeks
public comment on the application form that the Executive Director
would use to collect information from Tribal governments that seek ERIF
TAP funding. The form will be used by the Executive Director to
evaluate the eligibility of each Tribal government applicant, and
determine whether, the circumstances under which, and the amount of any
ERIF funds that may be transferred to a Tribal government applicant
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(d)(3). Seeking ERIF funds under the ERIF
TAP is voluntary with each Tribal government. The application form is
planned as a one-time information collection per applicant. The
Permitting Council estimates that it will take approximately 40 hours
to complete the application form for ERIF TAP funds.
Respondents: Federally-recognized Indian Tribe consulting on or
engaged in the Federal environmental review and authorization process
(e.g., through the National Environmental Policy Act or Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act) for one or more FAST-41 covered
projects that are posted on the Permitting Dashboard at the time of
submission.
Frequency: One time per grant application.
Application: To be considered to receive ERIF TAP funds, an
eligible Tribal government must submit a completed application form to
the Permitting Council Executive Director that contains the information
required in the Application Instructions. At a minimum, the applicant
must include contact information, the amount of funding requested, what
will be accomplished with the funding (i.e., activities and funding
level per activity), which FAST-41 covered projects the applicant is
consulting on or engaged in, and how the funded activities will result
in more timely and efficient environmental review and authorization of
those FAST-41 covered projects. The application should include the
information necessary for the Permitting Council Executive Director to
determine that the project and proposal satisfies eligibility
requirements.
Completed application forms must be submitted to the Executive
Director through <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c782958e8187a1b7aeb4a4e9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e8adbaa1aea88e98819b8bc68f879e">[email protected]</span></a>. Instructions for submitting
applications can be found at <a href="https://www.permits.performance.gov/fpisc-content/erif-tribal-assistance-program">https://www.permits.performance.gov/fpisc-content/erif-tribal-assistance-program</a>.
Estimated Burden: The estimated burden for completing an
application form is as follows:
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 30 per year.
Frequency: Once per application.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 40 hours for each new
application form.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 4370m-8(d)(3).
Eric Beightel,
Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
[FR Doc. 2024-01028 Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-PL-P
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