[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 85 (Monday, May 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24217-24218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9928]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2004-17160]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comments; 
Clearance of a New Information Collection; Uniform Act Focused 
Certification Program for Right-of-Way Professionals

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to 
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to conduct 
a new information collection for a market survey to assist in the 
assessment of the need for developing a Uniform Act Focused 
Certification for Right-of-Way Professionals. Additional background and 
information about the potential need for the certification and the 
proposed survey process are provided below under Supplementary 
Information. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal 
Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by July 2, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FHWA-2004-17160 by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 
Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of 
the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. Note that all comments received will be posted without 
change to http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal information 
provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading under Regulatory Notices.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kathleen Kendrick, (202) 366-2035, 
Office of Real Estate Services, Federal Highway Administration, 
Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001. Office hours are from 7:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Uniform Act Certification Needs Analysis.
    Background: The demand for Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real 
Property Acquisition Policies Act (Uniform Act) compliant real estate 
services is growing rapidly. However, both public sector agencies and 
private sector firms are experiencing difficulty in recruiting new 
workers into the needed disciplines due to a lack of trained 
individuals. In response to these challenges, as the Lead Agency for 
the Uniform Act, FHWA is proposing to conduct research to examine and 
report upon training and certification options for right-of-way and 
other real estate service providers. In addition, FHWA would assess the 
market need for the establishment of a new certification program, which 
would have as a focus the development of a qualified workforce to 
assist agencies and private sector organizations operating under the 
Uniform Act.
    To assess the need for a new certification program focused on the 
Uniform Act, the Office of Real Estate Services proposes to survey 
three groups as follows:
    1. Licensing agencies in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Pacific territories will be surveyed to 
confirm the licenses required and the associated educational and work 
requirements for each license. Secondary research through agency 
Internet web sites will be utilized to the extent possible. Primary 
research by telephone or e-mail to a specific agency will only be 
performed as required to obtain information not available on the web 
site, or to obtain a required clarification.
    [ctrcir] Respondents: 27 agencies.
    [ctrcir] Frequency: This is a one-time survey.
    [ctrcir] Estimated Burden: It is estimated that the response time 
will be 15 minutes per agency, for a total response time of 6.75 hours.
    2. Selected two and four year colleges in the 50 states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and the Pacific 
Territories and major national organizations, associations and 
institutions will be surveyed to inventory and document existing 
Uniform Act focused real estate course offerings. Secondary research 
through the Internet will be used to identify institutions offering 
courses and to gather as much information about the courses through the 
institution's web site. Primary research by telephone or e-mail to 
institutions will be utilized only as required to obtain information 
not available on the institution's web site, or to obtain a required 
clarification.
    [ctrcir] Respondents: 75 institutions, associations, and 
organizations.
    [ctrcir] Frequency: This is a one-time survey.
    [ctrcir] Estimated Burden: It is estimated that the response time 
will be 15

[[Page 24218]]

minutes per institution, for a total response time of 18.75 hours.
    3. Right-of-way managers in the 50 state departments of 
transportation, selected city and county transportation agencies and 
selected private sector real estate services, engineering and 
consulting firms will be surveyed to assess market perception of the 
need for a Uniform Act focused right of way certification program. A 
brief survey form, with approximately 20 questions, will be utilized as 
an initial information gathering tool. A link to this survey form will 
be sent via e-mail to the respondent and the survey form will be 
completed on-line, with telephone follow-up only as required to obtain 
a clarification on information provided. In addition, as a follow-up 
and validation of the initial survey, a 90-minute focus group session 
will be held. Twenty individuals, selected from those who responded to 
the original survey, will meet in a focus group during, or in 
conjunction with a national or major regional meeting of right of way 
professionals, such as the American Association of State Transportation 
Officials (AASHTO) national right of way committee meeting.
    [ctrcir] Respondents: 100 survey respondents (54 state or territory 
transportation agencies, and 46 selected other city and county and 
private sector respondents).
    [ctrcir] Frequency: This will be a one-time survey and follow-up 
focus group meeting.
    [ctrcir] Estimated Total Annual Burden: The average response time 
for the survey is estimated to be 30 minutes, for a total of 50 hours. 
In addition, it is estimated that survey follow-up by e-mail or 
telephone will be required of 25% of the respondents for a total of 25 
respondents at an average of 10 minutes, for a total response time of 
4.17 hours. Twenty individuals will attend the focus group for 90 
minutes each for a total of 30 hours. The total response time for the 
survey, follow-up and focus group meeting will be approximately 84.2 
hours. The total annual burden for the entire survey (all three groups) 
is estimated to be approximately 110 hours.

Regulatory Notices

    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78), or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued on: April 20, 2004.
James R. Kabel,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
[FR Doc. 04-9928 Filed 4-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P