[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 195 (Monday, October 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52487-52488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25610]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information 
Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection 
Requests (ICRs) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for extension of currently approved 
collections. The ICRs describes the nature of the information 
collections and their expected burdens. The Federal Register Notice 
with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following 
collections of information was published on July 15, 1996 (FR 61, page 
36954-36955).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 6, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia Barney, (202) 366-6680, and 
refer to the OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

    1. Title: Title VI As It Applies to FTA Grant Programs.
    Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2132-0540.
    Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.
    Abstract: Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
states: ``No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, 
color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied 
the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or 
activity receiving Federal financial assistance.'' This information 
collection is required by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Title VI 
Regulation, 28 CFR Part 42, Subpart F (Section 42.406), and DOT Order 
1000.12. FTA policies and requirements are designed to clarify and 
strengthen these regulations. This requirement is applicable to all 
applicants, recipients, and sub recipients receiving Federal financial 
assistance. Experience has demonstrated that a program requirement at 
the application stage is necessary to assure that benefits and services 
are equitably distributed by grant recipients. The requirements 
prescribed by the Office of Civil Rights accomplish that objective 
while diminishing possible vestiges of discrimination among FTA grant 
recipients. FTA's assessment of this requirement indicated that the 
formulation and implementation of the Title VI program should occur 
with a decrease in costs to such applicants and recipients.
    All FTA grant applicants, recipients, and sub recipients are 
required to submit applicable Title VI information to the FTA Office of 
Civil Rights for review and approval. If FTA did not conduct pre-award 
reviews, solutions would not be generated in advance and program 
improvements could not be integrated into projects. FTA's experience 
with pre-award reviews for all projects and grants suggests this method 
contributes to maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness of FTA dollars 
and has kept post-award complaints to a minimum. Moreover, the 
objective of the Title VI statute can be more easily attained and 
beneficiaries of FTA funded programs have a greater likelihood of 
receiving transit services and related benefits on a nondiscriminatory 
basis.
    Estimated Annual Burden: The estimated annual burden is 2,883 
hours.
    2. Title: Nondiscrimination As It Applies to FTA Grant Programs.
    Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2132-0542.
    Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.
    Abstract: All entities receiving Federal financial assistance from 
FTA are prohibited from discriminating against any employee or 
applicant for employment because of race, color, creed, sex, national 
origin, age, or disability. To ensure that FTA's equal employment 
opportunity (EEO)procedures are followed, FTA requires grant recipients 
to submit written EEO plans to FTA for approval. FTA's assessment of 
this requirement shows that the formulating, submitting, and 
implementing of EEO programs should minimally increase costs for FTA 
applicants and recipients.
    To determine a grantee's compliance with applicable laws and 
requirements, grantee submissions are evaluated and analyzed based on 
the following criteria. First, an EEO program must include an EEO 
policy statement issued by the chief executive officer covering all

[[Page 52488]]

employment practices, including recruitment, selection, promotions, 
terminations, transfers, layoffs, compensation, training, benefits, and 
other terms and conditions of employment. Second, the policy must be 
placed conspicuously so that employees, applicants, and the general 
public are aware of the agency's EEO commitment.
    The data derived from written EEO and affirmative action plans will 
be used by the Office of Civil Rights in monitoring grantees' 
compliance with applicable EEO laws and regulations. This monitoring 
and enforcement activity will ensure that minorities and women have 
equitable access to employment opportunities and that recipients of 
Federal funds do not discriminate against any employee or applicant 
because of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or age, or 
disability.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated annual burden is 
6,000 hours.
    3. Title: Reporting of Technical Activities by FTA Grant 
Recipients.
    Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2132-0549
    Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.
    Abstract: 49 U.S.C. Sections 5303 and 5313 (a) and (b) authorize 
the use of Federal funds to assist metropolitan planning organizations 
(MPOs), states, and local public bodies in developing transportation 
plans and programs to serve future transportation needs of urbanized 
areas over 50,000 in population and States throughout the nation. As 
part of this effort, MPOs are required to consider a wide range of 
goals and objectives and to analyze alternative transportation system 
management and investment strategies. These objectives are measured by 
definable activities such as suburban mobility planning and other 
related activities.
    The information collected by these forms is used to report annually 
to Congress, the Secretary, and to the FTA Administrator on how 
grantees are responding to national emphasis areas and congressional 
direction, and allows FTA to track grantees' use of Federal planning 
and research funds.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated burden is 150 
hours.
    4. Title: Bus Testing Program.
    Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2132-0550
    Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.
    Abstract: 49 U.S.C. Section 5323  provides that no 
Federal funds appropriated or made available after September 30, 1989, 
may be obligated or expended for the acquisition of a new bus model 
(including any model using alternative fuels) unless the bus has been 
tested at the Bus Testing Center (Center) in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 49 
U.S.C. Section 5318(a) further specifies that each new bus model is to 
be tested for maintainability, reliability, safety, performance 
(including braking performance), structural integrity, fuel economy, 
emissions, and noise.
    The operator of the Bus Testing Center, the Pennsylvania 
Transportation Institute (PTI), is under contract to the FTA. PTI 
operates and maintains the Center, and establishes and collects fees 
for the testing of the vehicles at the facility. Upon completion of the 
testing of the vehicle at the Center, a test report is provided to the 
manufacturer of the new bus model. The bus manufacturer certifies to an 
FTA grantee that the bus the grantee is purchasing has been tested at 
the Center. Also, grantees about to purchase a bus use this report to 
assist them in making their purchasing decisions. PTI maintains a 
reference file for all the test reports which are made available to the 
public.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated annual burden is 
50 hours.
    5. Title: Prevention of Alcohol Misuse in Transit Operations.
    Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2132-0557.
    Abstract: The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 
(Pub.L. 102-143, October 28, 1991, now codified in relevant part at 49 
U.S.C. Section 5331) requires any recipient of Federal financial 
assistance under 49 U.S.C. Sections 5309, 5307, or 5311 or under 23 
U.S.C. Section 103(e) (4) to establish a program designed to help 
prevent accidents and injuries resulting from the misuse of drugs and 
alcohol by employees who perform safety-sensitive functions. FTA's 
regulation, 49 CFR Part 654, ``Prevention of Alcohol Misuse in Transit 
Operations,'' effective March 17, 1994, requires recipients to submit 
to FTA annual reports containing data which summarize information 
concerning the recipients' alcohol testing program, such as the number 
and type of test given, number of positive test results, and the kind 
of safety-sensitive function the employee performs. FTA uses these data 
to ensure compliance with the rule, to assess the misuse of alcohol in 
the transit industry, and to set the random testing rate. The data will 
also be used to assess the effectiveness of the rule in reducing the 
misuse of alcohol among safety-sensitive transit employees and making 
transit safer for the public.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated annual burden is 
32,480 hours.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention OST 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 in Washington, DC, on October 1, 1996.
Phillip A. Leach,
Clearance Officer, United States Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 96-25610 Filed 10-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P