Agency Information Collection Activities: Renewed Approval of Information Collection |
|---|
|
John Augustine
U.S. Department of Transportation
17 November 2020
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73348-73350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25321]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2020-0232]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Renewed Approval of
Information Collection
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), DOT.
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The collection is
necessary for administration of the ``Discretionary Grants for
Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (FASTLANE/INFRA)
Program''. FASTLANE/INFRA grants support surface transportation
infrastructure projects that have a significant local or regional
impact.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by January 19, 2021.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit them by only one of the following means:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
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.
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
[[Page 73349]]
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-2020-0232 at the
beginning of your comments. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 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
INFRAgrants@dot.gov, or call Paul Baumer at (202) 366-1092.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: New Collection. OMB number will be issued
after the collection is approved.
Title: Discretionary Grants for Nationally Significant Freight and
Highway Projects (FASTLANE/INFRA) Program.
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 to State and
local Governments, including U.S. territories, tribal Governments,
transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations
(MPOs), and other political subdivisions of State or local Governments
through the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects
Program, which was established in the Fixing American's Surface
Transportation Act of 2015 (``FAST ACT''), Public Law 1105. These
discretionary grants were previously referred to by the DOT as
``Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-
Term Achievement of National Efficiencies'', or ``FASTLANE''
Discretionary Grants, and are now referred to as ``Infrastructure for
Rebuilding America'' or ``INFRA'' Discretionary Grants. The Office of
the Secretary of Transportation (``OST'') is referring to these grants
as ``FASTLANE'' or ``INFRA'' Discretionary Grants, depending on the
year of award. The purpose of each program is to advance projects that
will have a significant impact on the Nation, metropolitan area or a
region.
This notice seeks comments on the proposed information collection,
which will collect information necessary to support the ongoing
oversight and administration of previous awards, the evaluation and
selection of new applications, and the funding agreement negotiation
stage for new awards.
The reporting requirements for the program is as follows:
To be considered to receive a FASTLANE/INFRA grant, a project
sponsor must submit an application to DOT containing a project
narrative, as detailed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The
project narrative should include the information necessary for the
Department to determine that the project satisfies eligibility
requirements as warranted by law.
Following the announcement of a funding award, the recipient and
DOT will negotiate and sign a funding agreement. In the agreement, the
recipient must describe the project that DOT agreed to fund, which is
the project that was described in the FASTLANE/INFRA application or a
reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement also includes a
project schedule and budget.
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 FASTLANE/INFRA program.
For the purposes of estimating the information collection burden
below for new applicants and awardees, the Department is assuming that
for each year 2021-2023, the Department will review approximately 200
applications in Year 1, negotiate 20 funding agreements in Year 2, and
begin quarterly project monitoring for 20 projects in Year 3. For a new
applicant in 2021, their burden will be 100 hours in 2020, 4 hours in
2022, and 20 hours in 2023. See Table 1 below:
Table 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 1 (2021) Year 2 (2022) Year 3 (2023)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondent Hours Frequency Hours Frequency Hours Frequency Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021 Applicant (200).................... 100 1 .............. .............. .............. .............. 20000
2021 Awardee (20)....................... .............. .............. 4 1 .............. .............. 80
2021 Recipient (20)..................... .............. .............. .............. .............. 5 4 400
2022 Applicant (200).................... 100 1 .............. .............. .............. .............. 20000
2022 Awardee (20)....................... .............. .............. 4 1 .............. .............. 80
2022 Recipient (20)..................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
2023 Applicant (200).................... 100 1 .............. .............. .............. .............. 20000
2023 Awardee (20)....................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
2023 Recipient (20)..................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Notice is separately estimating the information collection
burden for projects awarded from 2016-2020. Approximately 60 of these
projects are in the project monitoring phase in Year 1, while 40
projects are still negotiating funding agreements. In Year 2,
approximately 30 of these projects will begin project monitoring, while
approximately 20 projects will cease reporting once their projects are
completed. In Year 3, 10 projects will begin project monitoring while
20 projects will cease reporting. The individual burden for a project
awarded from 2016-2020 will depend on when they were selected, when
they completed negotiation of their funding agreement, and when their
project reaches completion. See Table 2 below:
[[Page 73350]]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondent Number Hrs Freq Number Hrs Freq Number Hrs Freq Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016-2020 Awardee......................... 40 4 1 10 4 1 0 4 1 200
2016-2020 Recipient....................... 60 5 4 70 5 4 60 5 4 3800
2016-2020 Project Closed.................. 0 0 0 20 0 0 40 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Department's estimated burden for this information collection
is as follows:
New Applications:
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 200 per year.
Frequency: Once.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 hours for each new
Application;
For Funding Agreements:
Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 30 in Year 1 and 2,
20 in Year 3.
Frequency: Once.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 4 hours for each new Funding
Agreement.
For Project Monitoring:
Expected Number of Respondents: Estimated 60 in Year 1, 70 in Year
2, 80 in Year 3.
Frequency: Quarterly.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 5 hours for each request for
Quarterly Progress and Monitoring Report;
Estimated Total 3-year Burden on Respondents: 64,560 hours. (New
Applicants [60,000 hrs], New Awardees/Recipients [560 hrs] + Prior
Awardees/Recipients [4000 hrs]).
The following is detailed information and instructions regarding
the specific reporting requirements for each report identified above:
Application Stage
To be considered to receive a FASTLANE or INFRA grant, a project
sponsor must submit an application to DOT containing a project
narrative, as detailed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The
project narrative should include the information necessary for the
Department to determine that the project satisfies eligibility
requirements.
Applications must be submitted through www.Grants.gov. Instructions
for submitting applications can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants. The application must
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 project narrative may not exceed 25 pages in length, excluding
cover pages and table of contents. The only substantive portions that
may exceed the 25-page limit are documents supporting assertions or
conclusions made in the 25-page 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 FASTLANE/INFRA application. Since
OST expects to receive 200 applications per funding round, the total
hours required are estimated to be 20,000 hours (100 hours x 200
applications = 20,000 hours) on a one-time basis, per funding round.
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 FASTLANE/INFRA
application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement
also includes the project schedule and budget.
OST estimates that it takes approximately 4 person-hours to respond
to provide the information necessary for funding agreements. Based on
previous rounds of FASTLANE/INFRA awards, OST estimates that there will
likely be 20 agreements negotiated per additional funding round. The
total hours required are estimated to be 40 (4 hours x 40 agreements =
40 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 expects approximately 20
projects to be awarded per funding round, while grants awarded in prior
years will reach completion during the year and would no longer need to
submit these reports. OST expects recipients and awardees from 2016-
2020 will require 3800 hours to submit project monitoring reports while
new recipients and awardees will require 560 hours from 2021-2023.
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 November 12, 2020.
John Augustine,
Director of the Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, Office
of the Under Secretary for Transportation Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-25321 Filed 11-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P