[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 82 (Thursday, April 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23850-23854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10184]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2011-0019]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Approval of a Revision 
in Information Collection(s); Comments Requested: National 
Infrastructure Investments Grant Program or ``TIGER II Discretionary 
Grants''

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments 
on a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
the revision and amendment of a previously approved Information 
Collection Request (OMB Control  2105-0563) in accordance with 
the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-
13, 44 USC 3501 et seq.).
    The previous approval granted the Department of Transportation 
authority to collect information involving National Infrastructure 
Investments or ``TIGER II'' Discretionary Grants pursuant to Title I of 
the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act for 2010 (the ``FY 2010 Appropriations Act). The 
Office of the Secretary of Transportation (``OST'') is referring to 
these grants as ``TIGER II Discretionary Grants.'' The original 
collection of information was necessary in order to receive 
applications for grant funds pursuant to the Transportation, Housing 
and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 
(``FY 2010 Appropriations Act''), Title I--Department of 
Transportation, Office of the Secretary, National Infrastructure 
Investments, Public Law 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034. The purpose of the 
TIGER II Discretionary Grants program is to advance projects that will 
have a significant impact on the Nation, Metropolitan area or a region.
    This revision revises the original request to include an additional 
information collection. The additional

[[Page 23851]]

information to be collected will be used to, and is necessary to, 
evaluate the effectiveness of projects that have been awarded grant 
funds and to monitor project financial conditions and project progress 
in support of the Supplemental Discretionary Grants for Capital 
Investments in Surface Transportation Infrastructure, referred to by 
the Department as ``Grants for Transportation Investment Generating 
Economic Recovery'', or ``TIGER'' Discretionary Grants program 
authorized and implemented pursuant to the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the ``Recovery Act'') (OMB Control Number: 
2105-0560) and the grants for National Infrastructure Investments under 
the FY 2010 Appropriations Act or TIGER II'' Discretionary Grants. The 
purposes of the TIGER and TIGER II Discretionary Grant programs include 
promoting economic recovery and supporting projects that have a 
significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region.
    A 60-day Federal Register notice was published on February 15, 2011 
(76 FR 8804). Since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register 
notice, no comments were received to the Docket (DOT-OST-2011-0019) and 
therefore no review of comments was required, so none was performed by 
the Department.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by May 31, 2011 and 
submitted to the attention of the DOT/OST Desk Officer, Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503 
with the associated OMB Control Number 2105-0563 and Dockets (DOT-OST-
2011-0019).

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
2011-0019] through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Mariner, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation 
Policy, at 202-366-8914 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0563.
    Title: National Infrastructure Investments Grant Program or ``TIGER 
II Discretionary Grants''.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Type of Review: Renewal of an information collection.
    Background: On February 17, 2009, the President of the United 
States signed the Recovery Act to, among other purposes, (1) preserve 
and create jobs and promote economic recovery, (2) invest in 
transportation infrastructure that will provide long-term economic 
benefits, and (3) assist those most affected by the current economic 
downturn. The Recovery Act appropriated $1.5 billion of discretionary 
grant funds to be awarded by the Department of Transportation for 
capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure. The 
Department refers to these grants as ``Grants for Transportation 
Investment Generating Economic Recovery'' or ``TIGER'' Discretionary 
Grants. Funding for 51 projects totaling nearly $1.5 billion under the 
TIGER program was announced on February 17, 2010. Projects were 
selected based on their alignment with the selection criteria specified 
in the Federal Register notice for the TIGER Discretionary Grant 
program. On December 16, 2009 the President signed the FY 2010 
Appropriations Act. The FY 2010 Appropriations Act appropriated $600 
million for National Infrastructure Investments using language that is 
very similar, but not identical to the language in the Recovery Act 
authorizing the TIGER Discretionary Grants. The Department is referring 
to the grants for National Infrastructure Investments as TIGER II 
Discretionary Grants. Like the TIGER Discretionary Grants, TIGER II 
Discretionary Grants are for capital investments in surface 
transportation infrastructure and are to be awarded on a competitive 
basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a 
metropolitan area, or a region. Funding for 75 projects totaling nearly 
$600 million under the TIGER II program was announced on October 20, 
2010. Projects were selected based on their alignment with the 
selection criteria specified in the Federal Register notice for the 
TIGER II Discretionary Grant program. As announced in the Federal 
Register notices for each of the TIGER and TIGER II Discretionary Grant 
programs, grantees are expected to provide information to the 
Government so that the Government may monitor the financial conditions 
and progress of projects, as well as the effectiveness of projects 
using performance measurement metrics negotiated between the grantees 
and the Government. This request revises the existing PRA clearance to 
cover additional information from grantees that is necessary to 
negotiate the grant agreements and to cover the reporting requirements 
agreed to by the grant recipients of the TIGER and TIGER II 
Discretionary Grant programs.
    The reporting requirements are as follows:
    Grantees will submit reports on the financial condition of the 
project and the project's progress. Grantees will submit progress 
reports and the Federal Financial Report (SF-425) to the Government on 
a quarterly basis, beginning on the 20th of the first month of the 
calendar-year quarter following the execution of a grant agreement, and 
on the 20th of the first month of each calendar-year quarter thereafter 
until completion of the project. The initial quarterly report will 
include a detailed description, and, where appropriate, drawings, of 
the items funded.
    Grantees will also submit an Annual Budget Review and Program Plan 
to the Government, via e-mail, 60 days prior to the end of each 
Agreement year that they are receiving grant funds. The Annual Budget 
Review and Program Plan will provide a detailed schedule of activities, 
estimate of specific performance objectives, include forecasted 
expenditures, and a schedule of milestones for the upcoming year. If 
there is an actual or projected project cost increase, the Annual 
Budget Review and Program Plan will include a written plan for 
providing additional sources of funding to cover the project budget 
shortfall or supporting documentation of committed funds to cover the 
cost increase.
    This information will be used to monitor grantees' use of Federal 
funds, ensuring accountability and financial transparency in the TIGER 
and TIGER II Discretionary Grant programs.
    Grantees will also submit reports on the performance (or projected 
performance) of the project using performance measures that the grantee 
and the Government selected through negotiations. The grantees will 
submit a Pre-project Report that will consist of current baseline data 
for each of the performance measures specified in the Performance 
Measurement Table in the grant agreement negotiated between the grantee 
and the Government. The Pre-project Report will include a detailed 
description of data sources, assumptions, variability, and the 
estimated level of precision for each measure. The grantees will submit 
quarterly Project Performance

[[Page 23852]]

Measurement Reports to the Government for each of the performance 
measures specified in the Performance Measurement Table in the grant 
agreement negotiated between the grantee and the Government. Grantees 
will submit reports at each of the intervals identified for the 
duration of the time period specified in the Performance Measurement 
Table in the grant agreement negotiated between the grantee and the 
Government. The grantees will submit a Project Outcomes Report after 
the project is completed that will consist of a narrative discussion 
detailing project successes and/or the influence of external factors on 
project expectations.
    Respondents will have the opportunity to submit the information 
either electronically or by using fillable PDF, word processing or 
spreadsheet files. This information will be used to evaluate and 
compare projects and to monitor results that grant funds achieve, 
ensuring that grant funds achieved the outcomes targeted by the TIGER 
and TIGER II Discretionary Grant programs.
    The Department's estimated burden for the new information to be 
collected is as follows:
    Expected Number of Respondents: 126.
    Frequency: Quarterly, and yearly.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 8 hours for each Quarterly 
Progress and Monitoring Report; 8 hours for each Annual Budget Review; 
8 hours for each Quarterly Performance Measurement Report.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 9,072 hours.
    The following is detailed information and instructions regarding 
the specific reporting requirements for each report identified above:
    TIGER and TIGER II Discretionary Grant program grantees will submit 
a Project Progress and Monitoring Report and the Federal Financial 
Report (SF-425) to the Government on a quarterly basis. Grantees should 
use the following structure when preparing the quarterly Project 
Progress and Monitoring Report.

 Project Progress and Monitoring Report

    [cir] Frequency: Quarterly (on the 20th of the first month of the 
calendar quarter).
    [cir] Report covers: Previous quarter, along with a two-quarter 
forecast.
    [cir] Start: Upon award of grant.
    [cir] End: Once construction is complete.
    [cir] Format/Fields and accompanying instructions (beyond project 
ID information):
    1. Executive Summary.--A clear and concise summary of the current 
status of the project, including identification of any major issues 
that have an impact on the project's scope, budget, schedule, quality, 
or safety, including:
     Current total project cost (forecast) vs. latest budget 
vs. baseline budget. Include an explanation of the reasons for any 
deviations from the approved budget.
     Current overall project completion percentage vs. latest 
plan percentage.
     Any delays or exposures to milestone and final completion 
dates. Include an explanation of the reasons for the delays and 
exposures.
     A summary of the projected and actual dates for notices to 
proceed for significant contracts, start of construction, start of 
expenditure of TIGER and TIGER II Discretionary Grant funds, and 
project completion date. Include an explanation of the reasons for any 
discrepancies from the corresponding project milestone dates included 
in the Agreement.
     Any Federal obligations and/or TIFIA disbursements 
occurring during the month versus planned obligations or disbursements.
     Any significant contracts advertised, awarded, or 
completed.
     Any significant scope of work changes.
     Any significant items identified as having deficient 
quality.
     Any significant safety issues.
     Any significant Federal issues such as environmental 
compliance, Buy America/Buy American (whichever is applicable to this 
Project), Davis Bacon Act Prevailing Wage requirements, etc.
    2. Project Activities and Deliverables.--Highlighting the project 
activities and deliverables occurring during the previous quarter 
(reporting period), and (2) define the activities and deliverables 
planned for the next two reporting periods. Activities and deliverables 
to be reported on should include meetings, audits and other reviews, 
design packages submitted, advertisements, awards, construction 
submittals, construction completion milestones, submittals related to 
Recovery Act requirements, media or Congressional inquiries, value 
engineering/constructability reviews, and other items of significance. 
The two reporting period ``look ahead schedule'' will enable the 
Government to accommodate any activities requiring input or assistance.
    3. Action Items/Outstanding Issues.--Drawing attention to, and 
tracking the progress of, highly significant or sensitive issues 
requiring action and direction in order to resolve. In general, issues 
and administrative requirements that could have a significant or 
adverse impact to the project's scope, budget, schedule, quality, 
safety, and/or compliance with Federal requirements should be included. 
Status, responsible person(s), and due dates should be included for 
each action item/outstanding issue. Action items requiring action or 
direction should be included in the quarterly status meeting agenda. 
The action items/outstanding issues may be dropped from this section 
upon full implementation of the remedial action, and upon no further 
monitoring anticipated.
    4. Project Schedule.--An updated master program schedule reflecting 
the current status of the program activities should be included in this 
section. A Gantt (bar) type chart is probably the most appropriate for 
quarterly reporting purposes, with the ultimate format to be agreed 
upon between the grantee and the Government. It is imperative that the 
master program schedule be integrated, i.e., the individual contract 
milestones tied to each other, such that any delays occurring in one 
activity will be reflected throughout the entire program schedule, with 
a realistic completion date being reported. Narratives, tables, and/or 
graphs should accompany the updated master program schedule, basically 
detailing the current schedule status, delays and potential exposures, 
and recovery efforts. The following information should also be 
included:
     Current overall project completion percentage vs. latest 
plan percentage.
     Completion percentages vs. latest plan percentages for 
major activities such as right-of-way, major or critical design 
contracts, major or critical construction contracts, and significant 
force accounts or task orders. A schedule status description should 
also be included for each of these major or critical elements.
     Any delays or potential exposures to milestone and final 
completion dates. The delays and exposures should be quantified and 
overall schedule impacts assessed. The reasons for the delays and 
exposures should be explained, and initiatives being analyzed or 
implemented in order to recover the schedule should be detailed.
    5. Project Cost.--An updated cost spreadsheet reflecting the 
current forecasted cost vs. the latest approved budget vs. the baseline 
budget should be included in this section. One way to track project 
cost is to show: (1) Baseline Budget, (2) Latest Approved Budget, (3) 
Current Forecasted Cost Estimate, (4) Expenditures or Commitments To 
Date, and (5) Variance between Current Forecasted Cost and Latest 
Approved Budget. Line items should include all significant cost

[[Page 23853]]

centers, such as prior costs, right-of-way, preliminary engineering, 
environmental mitigation, general engineering consultant, section 
design contracts, construction administration, utilities, construction 
packages; force accounts/task orders, wrap-up insurance, construction 
contingencies, management contingencies, and other contingencies. The 
line items can be broken-up in enough detail such that specific areas 
of cost change can be sufficiently tracked and future improvements made 
to the overall cost estimating methodology. A Program Total line should 
be included at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Narratives, tables, and/
or graphs should accompany the updated cost spreadsheet, basically 
detailing the current cost status, reasons for cost deviations, impacts 
of cost overruns, and efforts to mitigate cost overruns. The following 
information should be provided:
     Reasons for each line item deviation from the approved 
budget, impacts resulting from the deviations, and initiatives being 
analyzed or implemented in order to recover any cost overruns.
     Transfer of costs to and from contingency line items, and 
reasons supporting the transfers.
     Speculative cost changes that potentially may develop in 
the future, a quantified dollar range for each potential cost change, 
and the current status of the speculative change. Also, a comparison 
analysis to the available contingency amounts should be included, 
showing that reasonable and sufficient amounts of contingency remain to 
keep the project within the latest approved budget.
     Detailed cost breakdown of the general engineering 
consultant (GEC) services (if applicable), including such line items as 
contract amounts, task orders issued (amounts), balance remaining for 
tasks, and accrued (billable) costs.
     Federal obligations and/or TIFIA disbursements for the 
project, compared to planned obligations and disbursements.
    6. Project Funding Status.--The purpose of this section is to 
provide a status report on the non-TIGER and non TIGER II Discretionary 
Grant funds necessary to complete the project. This report section 
should include a status update of any legislative approvals or other 
actions necessary to provide the non-TIGER and non TIGER II 
Discretionary Grant funds to the project. Such approvals might include 
legislative authority to charge user fees or set toll rates, or the 
commitment of local funding revenues to the project. In the event that 
there is an anticipated or actual project cost increase, the project 
funding status section should include a report on the anticipated or 
actual source of funds to cover the cost increase and any significant 
issues identified with obtaining additional funding.
    7. Project Quality.--The purpose of this section is to: (1) 
Summarize the Quality Assurance/Quality Control activities during the 
previous month (reporting period), and (2) highlight any significant 
items identified as being deficient in quality. Deficient items noted 
should be accompanied by reasons and specifics concerning the 
deficiencies, and corrective actions taken or planned. In addition, the 
agency or firm responsible for the corrective action should be 
documented. Planned corrective actions should then be included as 
Action Items/Outstanding Issues.
    8. Federal Financial Report (SF-425).--The Federal Financial Report 
(SF-425) (available at http://www.forms.gov/bgfPortal/docDetails.do?dId=15149) is a financial reporting form used throughout 
the Federal Government Grant system. Grantees should complete this form 
and attach it to each quarterly Project Progress and Monitoring Report.
    TIGER and TIGER II Discretionary Grant program grantees will submit 
an Annual Budget Review and Program Plan to the Government 60 days 
prior to the end of each Agreement year that they are receiving grant 
funds. Grantees should use the following structure when preparing the 
Annual Budget Review Report.

 Annual Budget Review Report

    [cir] Frequency: Yearly (60 days before the end of the Agreement 
year).
    [cir] Report covers: Upcoming Agreement year.
    [cir] Start: 60 days before first anniversary of grant award.
    [cir] End: Once construction is complete.
    [cir] Format/Fields and accompanying instructions (beyond project 
ID information):
    1. Detailed Schedule of Activities.--An updated master program 
schedule reflecting the current status of the program activities should 
be included in this section. A Gantt (bar) type chart is probably the 
most appropriate for annual reporting purposes.
    2. Estimate of Specific Performance Objectives.--This section will 
discuss, what, if any performance objectives of the project will be 
achieved over the course of the upcoming Agreement Year and note any 
differences from the original project plan.
    3. Forecasted Expenditures.--This section will discuss financial 
outlays that will occur in support of the project over the course of 
the upcoming Agreement Year and note any differences from the original 
project plan.
    4. Schedule of Milestones for the Upcoming Agreement Year.--This 
section will discuss, what, if any project milestones will be achieved 
over the course of the upcoming Agreement Year and the obligations 
associated with each milestone, noting any differences from the 
original project plan.
    If there are no proposed deviations from the Approved Detailed 
Project Budget, the Annual Budget Review shall contain a statement 
stating such. The grantee will meet with the Government to discuss the 
Annual Budget Review and Program Plan. If there is an actual or 
projected project cost increase, the annual submittal should include a 
written plan for providing additional sources of funding to cover the 
project budget shortfall or supporting documentation of committed funds 
to cover the cost increase. To the extent the annual budget update 
deviates from the approved project budget by more than 10 percent, then 
work proposed under the Annual Budget Review and Program Plan shall not 
commence until written approval from the Government is received.
    TIGER and TIGER II Discretionary Grant program grantees will submit 
Performance Measure Reports on the performance (or projected 
performance) of the project using the performance measures that the 
grantee and the Government selected through negations.

 Performance Measurement Reports

    [cir] Frequency: Quarterly (on the 20th of the first month of the 
calendar quarter).
    [cir] Report covers: Previous quarter.
    [cir] Start: Once, upon award of grant; Quarterly, once 
construction complete.
    [cir] End: At the end of agreed upon performance measurement 
period.
    [cir] Format/Fields and accompanying instructions (beyond project 
ID information):
    1. Performance Measures Narrative.--Including a detailed 
description of data sources, assumptions, variability, and the 
estimated level of precision for each measure.
    2. Performance Measures Spreadsheet.--Government and grantee will 
agree on the format of the spreadsheet for each individual project. 
Measures (to be negotiated between grantees and the Government, 
individually) may include, but are not limited to: average tons 
handled/day;

[[Page 23854]]

average daily gross ton-miles (GTM); average container lifts per day 
(TEUs); containers transported on lines (TEUs); transit passenger miles 
and hours of travel; transit passenger & non-passenger counts; transit 
rider characteristics; average bike and or pedestrian users at key 
locations; average daily traffic (ADT) and average daily truck traffic 
(ADTT); average daily total train delay (minutes); average daily total 
(all vehicles) vehicle delay at crossings; transit service level; 
facility service level; average hourly (or peak & off-peak) vehicle 
travel time; average hourly (or peak & off-peak) buffer index; annual 
crash rates by type/severity; average slow order miles and average 
daily delay minutes due to slow orders; bridge condition (Sufficiency 
Rating); road closure/lost capacity time (lane-hours).
    3. [For final Report] Project Outcomes.--Detailing Project 
successes and/or the influence of external factors on Project 
expectations. Including an ex post examination of project effectiveness 
in relation to the Pre-project Report baselines.
    A 60-day Federal Register notice was published on February 15, 2011 
(76 FR 8804). Since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register 
notice, no comments were received to the Docket (DOT-OST-2011-0019) and 
therefore no review of comments was required, so none was performed by 
the Department.
    The Department's estimated burden for this information collection 
is the following:
    Expected Number of Respondents: 126.
    Frequency: Quarterly, and yearly.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 8 hours for each Quarterly 
Progress and Monitoring Report; 8 hours for each Annual Budget Review; 
8 hours for each Quarterly Performance Measurement Report.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 9,072 hours.

    Authority:  The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 148.

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 22, 2011.
Claire W. Barrett,
Chief Information Management and Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-10184 Filed 4-27-11; 8:45 am]
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