[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59206-59209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27542]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA-2009-0001]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request, 1660-0017; Public Assistance Program

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION: Notice; 60-day notice and request for comments; revision of a 
currently approved information collection; OMB No. 1660-0017; Public 
Assistance Program; FEMA Form 90-49, Request for Public Assistance; 
FEMA Form 90-91, Project Worksheet (PW); FEMA Form 90-91A, Project 
Worksheet--Damage Description and Scope of Work Continuation Sheet; 
FEMA Form 90-91B, Project Worksheet--Cost Estimate Continuation Sheet; 
FEMA Form 90-91C Project Worksheet--Maps and Sketches Sheet; FEMA Form 
90-91D, Project Worksheet--Photo Sheet; FEMA Form 90-120, Special 
Considerations Questions; FEMA Form 121, PNP Facility Questionnaire; 
FEMA Form 90-123, Force Account Labor Summary Record; FEMA Form 90-124, 
Materials Summary Record; FEMA Form 90-125, Rented Equipment Summary 
Record; FEMA Form 90-126, Contract Work Summary Record; FEMA Form 90-
127, Force Account Equipment Summary Record; and FEMA Form 90-128, 
Applicant's Benefits Calculation Worksheet.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity 
to comment on a proposed revision of a currently approved information 
collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
this Notice seeks comments concerning the information collected by FEMA 
to make determinations for Public Assistance payments.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 19, 2010.

ADDRESSES: To avoid duplicate submissions to the docket, please use 
only one of the following means to submit comments:
    (1) Online. Submit comments at www.regulations.gov under docket ID 
FEMA-2009-0001. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    (2) Mail. Submit written comments to Office of Chief Counsel, 
Regulation and Policy Team, DHS/FEMA, 500 C Street, SW., Room 835, 
Wash, DC 20472-3100.
    (3) Facsimile. Submit comments to (703) 483-2999.
    (4) E-mail. Submit comments to [email protected]. Include docket 
ID FEMA-2009-0001 in the subject line.
    All submissions received must include the agency name and docket 
ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, 
all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, and will include any 
personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this 
information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy Act 
notice that is available on the Privacy and Use Notice link on the 
Administration Navigation Bar of http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Clifford Brown, Program 
Specialist, Public Assistance Grant Program at (202) 646-4136 for 
additional information. You may contact the Records Management Branch 
for copies of the proposed collection of information at facsimile 
number (202) 646-3347 or e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information collected is required for 
the Public Assistance (PA) Program eligibility determinations, grants 
management, and compliance with other Federal laws and regulations. The 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 
U.S.C. 5121-5207 (the Stafford Act), authorizes financial and other 
forms of assistance to State and local governments and certain Private 
Nonprofit (PNP) organizations to support the response, recovery, and 
mitigation efforts following Presidentially declared major disasters 
and emergencies. 44 CFR Part 206 specifies the information collections 
necessary to facilitate the provision of assistance under the PA 
Program.
    Pursuant to 44 CFR 206.202(c), the Grantee is required to submit a 
completed Request, FEMA Form 90-49 for each applicant who requests 
Public Assistance. Section 206.202(d) requires the applicant to submit 
a Project Worksheet (FEMA Forms 90-91, 90-91A, 90-91B, 90-91C, and 90-
91D) for each project. The Project Worksheet must identify the eligible 
scope of work and must include a quantitative estimate for the eligible 
work. As a supplement to the Project Worksheet, FEMA also requires a 
Special Considerations form, FEMA Form 90-120, and an Applicant's 
Benefits Calculation Worksheet, FEMA Form 90-128. There are also 
various optional forms to aid the applicant in preparing and submitting 
the Project Worksheet.
    Pursuant to 44 CFR 206.207, States are required to develop a State 
Administrative plan to administer the PA Program. The submission of the 
State Administrative Plan is required as a condition of receiving PA 
funding. FEMA must approve a State Administrative Plan before awarding 
any project grant assistance to a community or State applicant. The 
State must submit a revised plan annually. In addition, FEMA will 
request that the State amend its plan to meet current policy guidance 
in each disaster for which Public Assistance is included.
    Pursuant to 44 CFR 206.204(c), the Grantee may to approve time 
extensions for the completion of projects for an additional six months 
for debris clearance and emergency work and an additional 30 months for 
permanent work. Time extensions beyond the Grantee's authority (i.e., 
beyond the extensions available under section 206.204(c)), must be 
submitted by the Grantee to FEMA, pursuant to 44 CFR

[[Page 59207]]

206.204(d). Such extensions require the Regional Administrator's 
approval in writing, pursuant to 44 CFR 206.204(d)(2).
    A subgrantee may request additional funding through the Grantee to 
the Regional Administrator for cost overruns, pursuant to 44 CFR 
206.204(e). All requests for the Regional Administrator's approval must 
contain sufficient documentation to support the eligibility of all 
claimed work and costs. The Grantee must include a written 
recommendation when forwarding the request to the Regional 
Administrator.
    Pursuant to 44 CFR 206.204(f), progress reports must be submitted 
by the Grantee to the Regional Administrator on a quarterly basis. The 
Regional Administrator and Grantee negotiate the date for submission of 
the first report. Progress reports describe the status of those 
projects on which a final payment of the Federal share has not been 
made to the Grantee, and outline any problems or circumstances expected 
to result in noncompliance with the approved grant conditions.
    Once FEMA has made a determination on an application or project, 
the applicant may appeal that determination. If an applicant seeks 
appeal, 44 CFR 206.206 requires an applicant to submit a request for 
appeal, and the Grantee to submit a recommendation regarding the 
applicant's request. For those projects over $500,000.00 resulting from 
Hurricanes Katrina or Rita (DR-1603, DR-1604, DR-1605, DR-1606, and DR-
1607), applicants may seek arbitration in lieu of an appeal. To seek 
arbitration, applicants must submit a request for arbitration which may 
be accompanied by a recommendation from the Grantee. Arbitration is 
authorized by Section 601 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5) and 44 CFR 206.209.

Collection of Information

    Title: Public Assistance Program.
    Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved 
information collection.
    OMB Number: 1660-0017.
    Form Titles and Numbers: FEMA Form 90-49, Request for Public 
Assistance; FEMA Form 90-91, Project Worksheet (PW); FEMA Form 90-91A, 
Project Worksheet--Damage Description and Scope of Work Continuation 
Sheet; FEMA Form 90-91B, Project Worksheet--Cost Estimate Continuation 
Sheet; FEMA Form 90-91C Project Worksheet--Maps and Sketches Sheet; 
FEMA Form 90-91D, Project Worksheet--Photo Sheet; FEMA Form 90-120, 
Special Considerations Questions; FEMA Form 121, PNP Facility 
Questionnaire; FEMA Form 90-123, Force Account Labor Summary Record; 
FEMA Form 90-124, Materials Summary Record; FEMA Form 90-125, Rented 
Equipment Summary Record; FEMA Form 90-126, Contract Work Summary 
Record; FEMA Form 90-127, Force Account Equipment Summary Record; and 
FEMA Form 90-128, Applicant's Benefits Calculation Worksheet.
    Abstract: The information collected is utilized by FEMA to make 
determinations for Public Assistance payments based on the information 
supplied by the respondents. The following listing provides the 
instances of information sharing and how the individual collection 
instruments provide necessary information for Public Assistance 
considerations. FEMA Form 90-49 identifies the applicant and initiates 
the request. FEMA Forms 90-91A, B, C and D identifies the scope of the 
work and cost estimates. FEMA Form 90-120 records factors that could 
affect the scope of the work. FEMA Form 90-121 is used to determine 
private non-profit applicant eligibility. FEMA Form 90-123 identifies 
employees from the applicant's own workforce who perform related work, 
and FEMA form 90-124 identifies materials of the applicant used on the 
project. FEMA Form 90-125 provides a list of materials rented for the 
project, FEMA Form 90-126 identifies contract costs for the project, 
FEMA Form 90-127 records the applicant's equipment costs and FEMA Form 
90-128 provides the applicant's benefit costs for the project. The 
request for appeals, both first and second, and well as the arbitration 
requests allow for the applicant to request a review of determinations 
made.
    Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 167,554 Hours.

                                                 Table A.12--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs
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                                                                             Number of                Avg. burden     Total                     Total
                                                                Number of    responses    Total no.       per         annual    Avg. hourly     annual
         Type of respondent            Form name/form number   respondents      per           of        response   burden  (in   wage rate*   respondent
                                                                             respondent   responses    (in hours)     hours)                     cost
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State, Local or Tribal Government...  Request for Public                56          212       11,872        0.167        1,983       $51.10     $101,312
                                       Assistance/FEMA Form
                                       90-49.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Project Worksheet (PW)            56          903       50,568          1.5       75,852        51.10    3,876,037
                                       and continuation forms/
                                       FEMA Form 90-91
                                       (including sheets 90-
                                       91A, 90-91B, 90-91C
                                       and 90-91D).
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Special Considerations            56          903       50,568          0.5       25,284        51.10    1,292,012
                                       Questions/FEMA Form 90-
                                       120.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Applicant's Benefits              56          903       50,568          0.5       25,284        51.10    1,292,012
                                       Calculation Worksheet/
                                       FEMA Form 90-128.

[[Page 59208]]

 
State, Local or Tribal Government...  PNP Facility                      56           94        5,264          0.5        2,632        51.10      134,495
                                       Questionnaire/FEMA
                                       Form 90-121.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Force Account Labor               56           94        5,264          0.5        2,632        51.10      134,495
                                       Summary Record/FEMA
                                       Form 90-123.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Materials Summary                 56           94        5,264         0.25        1,316        51.10       67,248
                                       Record/FEMA Form 90-
                                       124.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Rented Equipment                  56           94        5,264          0.5        2,632        51.10      134,495
                                       Summary Record/FEMA
                                       Form 90-125.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Contract Work Summary             56           94        5,264          0.5        2,632        51.10      134,495
                                       Record/FEMA Form 90-
                                       126.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Force Account Equipment           56           94        5,264         0.25        1,316        51.10       67,248
                                       Summary Record/FEMA
                                       Form 90-127.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  State Administrative              56            1           56            8          448        51.10       22,893
                                       Plan/No Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  State Administrative              56            1           56            8          448        51.10       22,893
                                       Plan--Submission of
                                       Amendments After a
                                       Declaration/No Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Request for Time                  56           47        2,632          0.5        1,316        51.10       67,248
                                       Extension/No Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Request for Additional            56           19        1,064          0.5          532        51.10       27,185
                                       Funding Cost Overruns
                                       for Large Projects/No
                                       Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Progress Report/No Form           56            4          224          100       22,400        51.10    1,144,640
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Request for First                 56            7          392            1          392        51.10       20,031
                                       Appeal and
                                       Recommendation/No Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Request for Second                56            2          112            1          112        51.10        5,723
                                       Appeal and
                                       Recommendation/No Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Request for Arbitration/         171            1          171            1          171        51.10        8,738
                                       No Form.
State, Local or Tribal Government...  Recommendation for                 4           43          172            1          172        51.10        8,789
                                       Arbitration.
                                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...........................  .......................           56  ...........  ...........  ...........      167,554  ...........   $8,561,990
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    Estimated Cost: There are no annual reporting or recordkeeping 
costs associated with this collection.

Comments

    Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption 
above. Comments are solicited to (a) evaluate whether the proposed data 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the

[[Page 59209]]

burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(d) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Lawann Johnson,
Acting Director, Records Management Division, Office of Management, 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E9-27542 Filed 11-16-09; 8:45 am]
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