Notice2024-27702
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
November 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Transportation (the Department) invites public comments on a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve modifications to a currently approved Information Collection Request (ICR). The forms 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. The general process of applying for credit assistance is not changing; applications are still accepted on a rolling basis. The ICR continues to be necessary for the Department to evaluate projects and project sponsors for credit program eligibility and creditworthiness as required by law.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93399-93400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27702]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2024-0132]
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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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Department of Transportation (the Department) invites
public comments on a request to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to approve modifications to a currently approved Information
Collection Request (ICR). The forms 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. The general process of applying for credit
assistance is not changing; applications are still accepted on a
rolling basis. The ICR continues to be necessary for the Department to
evaluate projects and project sponsors for credit program eligibility
and creditworthiness as required by law.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket No. DOT-OST-2024-0132. Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information
collection through one of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
<bullet> Mail Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Build America Bureau at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d99bacb0b5bd98b4bcabb0bab899bdb6adf7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3577405c5951745850475c565475515a411b525a43">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 366-2300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 2105-0569.
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 collections.
[[Page 93400]]
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, Pub. L. 105-178 (1998) (TEA 21). RRIF was subsequently amended
by: the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users, Pub. L. 109-59 (2005) (SAFETEA-LU); the Rail
Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Division A of Pub. L. 110-432; the
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114-94) (2015)
(FAST Act) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (Pub. L. 117-
58). All applicants for RRIF credit program assistance are required to
submit a completed application. 49 U.S.C. 22403(a). The information
collection activity request for the RRIF credit program application was
most recently approved in 2021 (OMB Control Number 2105-0569). See 86
FR 51717 and 86 FR 33475.
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), the FAST Act and the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). All applicants for TIFIA credit
program assistance are required to submit a completed 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 2021 (OMB
Control Number 2105-0569). See 86 FR 51717 and 86 FR 33475.
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. 49 U.S.C. 22403(a) 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) 2021-2024, the
Department estimates that it will receive, on an annual basis, twenty
(20) RRIF letters of interest (LOIs), twenty (20) TIFIA LOIs, five (5)
RRIF applications, and nine (9) 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 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.
Duane Callender,
Executive Director (Acting), the Build America Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2024-27702 Filed 11-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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