[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81327-81328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32336]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[FTA Docket No. 2010-0047]
Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration invites public comment
about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's
(OMB) approval to renew the following information collection:
49 U.S.C. Part 611--Major Capital Investment Projects. The
information collected for this program will be used is to evaluate
proposed New and Small Starts projects. The Federal Register notice
with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments was published on
October 13, 2010.
DATES: Comments must be submitted before January 26, 2011. A comment to
OMB is most effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia L. Marion, Office of
Administration, Office of Management Planning, (202) 366-6680.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 49 U.S.C. Part 611--Major Capital Investment Projects
Abstract: On August 10, 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
was enacted. Sections 3011(d)(5) and 3011(e)(6) of SAFETEA-LU require
FTA to issue regulations on the manner in which candidate projects for
major capital investment grants for new fixed guideway systems,
extensions to existing fixed guideway systems, or significant corridor
based bus investments (``New Starts'' and ``Small Starts'') will be
evaluated and rated for purposes of the FTA Capital Investment Grant
program under 49 USC Section
[[Page 81328]]
5309. An Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for this
regulation was issued on January 30, 2006, (71 FR 22841). A Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was issued on August 3, 2007, (72 FR 43328).
The NPRM was withdrawn on February 17, 2009, due to an intervening
statutory change resulting from the passage of the SAFETEA-LU Technical
Corrections Act in June 2008. Another ANPRM for the regulation was
issued on June 2, 2010 (75 FR 31383). FTA is reviewing the comments
received on the ANPRM, and at this time a date for publication of the
NPRM is not known. FTA has a longstanding requirement to evaluate
proposed projects against a prescribed set of statutory criteria at
specific points during the projects' development including when they
seek to enter preliminary engineering, final design, and a Full Funding
Grant Agreement. In addition, FTA must report on its evaluations and
ratings annually to Congress. The Surface Transportation and Uniform
Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (STURAA) established in law a set of
criteria that proposed projects had to meet in order to be eligible for
federal funding. The requirement for summary project ratings has been
in place since 1998. Thus, the requirements for project evaluation and
data collection for New Starts projects are not new. One addition
included in SAFETEA-LU is the Small Starts program. The Small Starts
program enables smaller cost projects with a smaller requested share of
Section 5309 major capital investment funds to progress through a
simplified and streamlined project evaluation and data collection
process. In general, the information used by FTA for New and Small
Starts project evaluation and rating should arise as a part of the
normal planning process.
FTA has been collecting project evaluation information from project
sponsors under the existing OMB approval for this program (OMB No.
2132-0561). However, due to modifications in the project evaluation
criteria and FTA evaluation and rating procedures for the New Starts
program and the addition of the Small Starts program, it became
apparent that some information now required might be beyond the scope
of ordinary planning activities. In particular, SAFETEA-LU creates
additional requirements for before-and-after data collection as a
condition of obtaining a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) or a
Project Construction Grant Agreement (PCGA).
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 37,070 hours.
ADDRESSES: All written comments must refer to the docket number that
appears at the top of this document and be submitted to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
725--17th Street, NW. Washington, DC 20503, Attention: FTA Desk
Officer.
Comments are Invited On: Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Department, including whether the information will have practical
utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Issued On: December 20, 2010.
Ann M. Linnertz,
Associate Administrator for Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-32336 Filed 12-23-10; 8:45 am]
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