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Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Highway Administration Byline: Jazmyne Lewis Date: 26 December 2023 Subjects: American Government  , Roads & Highways
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89005-89006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28320]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2023-0055]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for
Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of request for extension of currently approved
information collection.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request
described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for approval of a renewal of information collection. We published a
Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this
information collection on October 18, 2023. We are required to publish
this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
DATES: Please submit comments by January 25, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number
0055 by any of the following methods:
Website: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carlos B. McCloud, (225) 433-2892_
carlos.mccloud@dot.gov or David Harris, (202) 366-2825-dave.harris@dot.gov, FHWA Office of Transportation Management (HOTM)
USDOT HQ E84-471, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection (SIRC) Program
Grant Application.
OMB Control #: 2125-0676.
Background: In adherence with 5 CFR 1320.13, this is a request for
approval for an emergency clearance for processing of information
related to a new collection of information for the SIRC Program grant
application submission and quarterly reporting requirements for FY
2023-2024 program of projects awards. The collection of information
will support implementation of title III--Research, Technology, and
Education, sec. 13001. Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection (a)
and (b) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law No:
117-58 or also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-BIL
(see Exhibit A page 12). The Office of the Secretary of Transportation
(OST) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has coordinated on
the development of public information to solicit responses to a Notice
of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the SIRC Program. Awarded funds to
eligible applicants will test the feasibility of a road usage fee and
other user-based alternative revenue mechanisms (referred to in this
section as ``user based alternative revenue mechanisms'') to help
maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
The information will be received by the FHWA to fulfill
the grant application submittal requirements and agreements prescribed
in the NOFO.
The collection of information will include grant
application forms and narratives, grant agreements, and project
management quarterly reporting.
The purpose of the collection is to receive information
relevant to evaluating applications to the SIRC grant program, per the
NOFO, and reporting requirements agreed to by recipients of the Grants.
The obligation to respond to the collection of information
is voluntary and is required to obtain or retain a benefit.
The Strategic Innovation for Revenue Collection (SIRC) Program
seeks to fund pilot projects that test the implementation of user-based
alternative revenue mechanisms that utilize a road user fee structure
for eligible entities to test the feasibility of the program objectives
outlined in section 133001(b)(3), as prescribed in Exhibit A of this
document. Grant awards test innovative ways to replace or supplement
the Federal gas tax to maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway
Trust Fund. The collection of information is necessary to receive
applications for grant funds, evaluate the effectiveness of projects
that have been awarded grant funds, and monitor project financial
conditions and project progress pursuant to section 133001(b)(3). FY
2023--FY 2024 is the first year of implementation for the SIRC Program.
FHWA implemented a similar predecessor program, the Surface
Transportation System Funding Alternatives (STSFA) program authorized
by section 6020 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST)
Act, Public Law 114-94, FY 2016-2021, which was repealed with the
passage of BIL. Information about awards funded under the STSFA program
is available at: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/stsfa/index.htm.
FHWA requests information from applicants in the form an electronic
application, which will represent 100% of the submissions. The
application will assist in soliciting proposals for funding from
eligible applicants for the five-year grant program, to monitor the
grant program recipients, project progress, assess project outcomes and
permit evaluation. The reporting requirements are submitted by
recipients and will be completed during the application stage, grant
agreement, and the project management stages.
[[Page 89006]]
FHWA will continue to use the information collected in the
application phase to evaluate proposals and make decisions to award
grants to applicants for any future similar appropriations. FHWA will
use the information to monitor the progress of projects that have been
awarded SIRC Program funds, and to monitor the proper expenditure of
Federal funds. The project management information will be collected by
grant recipients.
Much of the information will be produced and collected through the
normal process of project management, so the additional burden of
Government information collection is small in comparison to the data
management related to information that grant recipients already collect
to manage their projects properly. The information collected from grant
recipients is project specific and the information is not available
other than from the grantees. The information will be used to monitor
projects on a quarterly basis, and to ensure on an annual basis that
the project's plan conforms to the project's real operating
environment.
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. Retention of records will adhere to DOT Order
1351.28 Records Management, 28.4.5 Electronic Records.
The Department will receive application reports electronically via
email and via websites from grant awardees upon approval from OMB.
Certain agencies within the Department have found that delivery of
reports electronically is the most reliable way to collect information
and will use their existing grant administration systems to collect the
information covered under this request. 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 https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf, and the post-
award Federal Financial Reports form (SF-425), available online at
https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF425_2_0-V2.0.pdf.
If the information requested in the reports is not collected, the
Department will not be able to evaluate project progress or financial
conditions in accordance with the 23 U.S.C., Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law and the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the program
published in the Federal Register. The quarterly collection of
financial data ensures that the use of Federal funds can be
appropriately monitored.
Respondents: The primary respondents are the eligible applicants,
which includes a State or a group of States, Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) or a group of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
(as defined in section 134(b) of title 23, United States Code), a local
government or a group of local governments.
Frequency: Every year by December 31st.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: The estimated number of
hours for each of the 15 recipients (annually based on previous STSFA
Program) to compile and submit the requested data is estimated to be no
more than 8 employee hours annually.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Total estimated average annual
burden is 1,032 hours.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality,
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that
the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic
technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information.
The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request
for OMB's clearance of this information collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued On: December 19, 2023.
Jazmyne Lewis,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-28320 Filed 12-22-23; 8:45 am]
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