[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 166 (Wednesday, August 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45473-45474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22741]


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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, 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 Request 
(ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature 
of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following collection of information was published on April 18, 1997 [62 
FR 19160].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 26, 1997.


[[Page 45474]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Scott on (202) 366-4104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Highway Administration

    Title: Developing and Recording Costs for Utility Adjustments.
    OMB Number: 2125-0519.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously 
approved collection for which approval has expired.
    Affected Public: 3,000 U.S. Utilities Companies.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Abstract: Under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 123, Federal-aid 
highway funds may be used to reimburse State highway agencies (SHAs) 
when they have paid for the cost of relocation of utility facilities 
necessitated by the construction of Federal-aid highway projects. This 
reimbursement is based on actual costs incurred by a utility company as 
a result of adjusting its facilities. Payment for ``costs incurred'' is 
a basic tenet of the Federal-aid program. This general principle is 
also established in 23 U.S.C. 121 when Federal-aid highway funds are 
being used to reimburse the State highway agencies for the cost of 
construction of Federal-aid highway projects. To implement these 
provisions of law, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regulations, 
23 CFR 645, Subpart A, require that the utility be able to document its 
costs or expenses for adjusting its facilities. This record of costs 
then forms the basis for payment by the SHA to the utility company and 
in turn FHWA reimburses the SHA for its payments to the utility 
company. A utility company's cost accounting records establish a means 
of identifying the costs incurred in adjusting utility facilities. The 
SHA uses these records to verify the costs to base its payments on. The 
FHWA payment is based on the costs the State pays for. If the utility 
did not keep a record of its costs, then there would be no 
documentation of the expenses it would have incurred in adjusting its 
facilities. If this should occur, there would be no basis for Federal-
aid highway fund participation in the costs and, under 23 U.S.C. 123, 
the FHWA would not be able to reimburse the State for utility 
adjustments. There are approximately 30,000 utility companies in the 
United States. In any one year, it is estimated that about 10 percent, 
or 3,000, of these utilities will be involved with reimbursable utility 
adjustments on Federal-aid projects. It is further estimated that each 
of these 3,000 utilities will have about 3 adjustments of its 
facilities per year on Federal-aid projects. The net impact is 
approximately 9,000 reimbursable utility adjustments. For a typical 
adjustment, about 20 hours of staff time (16 hours professional staff; 
4 hours secretarial staff) are expended to establish and maintain the 
record of costs.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 180,000 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 FHWA 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 Departments 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 August 20, 1997.
Phillip A. Leach,
Clearance Officer, United States Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 97-22741 Filed 8-26-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P