[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72972-72977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29015]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0241; Notice No. 13-18]


Information Collection Activities

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA 
invites comments on an information collection pertaining to Hazardous 
Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grants. PHMSA will request 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a revision 
to the current information collection. The revision implements a 
statutory requirement in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 
Century Act (Public Law No. 112- 141, July 6, 2012) (MAP-21) to submit 
an annual report to Congress that identifies the ultimate recipients of 
HMEP grants and contains a detailed accounting and description of each 
grant expenditure by each grant recipient, including the amount of, and 
purpose for, each

[[Page 72973]]

expenditure. This notice describes and seeks comment on the request for 
information PHMSA seeks to collect in order to comply with MAP-21.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 3, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by identification of the docket 
number (Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0241) by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing 
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the 
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, 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 for this notice at the beginning of the comment. All 
comments received will be posted without change to the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS), including any personal information.
    Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or DOT's Docket 
Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emmanuel Ekwo, Chief, Grants and 
Registration Branch, Outreach, Training, and Grants Division, Office of 
Hazardous Materials Safety (PHH-52), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 
Safety Administration, (202) 366-1634, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) requires PHMSA to provide interested members of the 
public and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies an 
information collection PHMSA will submit to OMB for a revision to OMB 
Control Number 2137-0586, entitled ``Hazardous Materials Public Sector 
Training and Planning Grants,'' to comply with Moving Ahead for 
Progress in the 21st Century Act (Public Law No. 112- 141, July 6, 
2012) (MAP-21). This collection of information is contained in 49 CFR, 
part 110, Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning 
Grants. PHMSA is seeking to identify the ultimate recipients of HMEP 
grants and a detailed accounting and description of each grant 
expenditure by each grant recipient, including the amount of, and 
purpose for, each expenditure.

HMEP Grants

    PHMSA is responsible for the administration of the Hazardous 
Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant program. The HMEP grant 
program, as mandated by Federal hazardous materials transportation law 
(Federal hazmat law; 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) provides Federal financial 
and technical assistance to states, territories, and Native American 
tribes to ``develop, improve, and carry out emergency plans'' within 
the National Response System and the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (Title III), 42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq. The 
program was established in 1993 to ensure that the needed planning, 
training, and infrastructure are in place to protect the public in the 
event of a transportation-related hazardous materials incident. The 
grants are used to develop, improve, and implement emergency plans; 
train public sector hazardous materials emergency response employees to 
respond to accidents and incidents involving hazardous materials; 
determine flow patterns of hazardous materials within a state and 
between states; and determine the need within a state for regional 
hazardous materials emergency response teams.\1\
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    \1\ The HMEP grants program is funded by registration fees 
collected from persons who offer for transportation or transport 
certain hazardous materials in intrastate, interstate, or foreign 
commerce.
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    Among the statutory requirements for HMEP grants are funding for 
planning and training with pass-through requirements,\2\ recipient 
sharing in 20 percent of the total costs of the planning and training 
activities, and maintenance of the level of aggregate expenditures by a 
recipient for the last five (5) fiscal years. The program is a 
discretionary grant program. PHMSA is not obligated to make an award if 
an applicant does not meet PHMSA's requirements. PHMSA has provided 
funding to eligible states, territories, or Native American tribal 
applicants that submit a completed, thorough application with the 
required documentation. Annual obligations for all recipients are 
approximately $22 million, while individual award amounts range from 
less than $50,000 to more than $1 million.
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    \2\ With pass-through grants, states apply to the Federal 
government for a grant. After receiving the grant, the state then 
passes a certain percentage of the Federal funds on to sub-grantees. 
At least 75 percent of the Federal training funds must be used to 
provide training to local responders, including volunteers.
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MAP-21 and Enhanced Grant Post-Award Monitoring

    On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law the law Moving 
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which among other 
requirements, stipulates that in its annual Report to Congress, PHMSA 
identify the ultimate recipients of HMEP grants and include a detailed 
accounting and description of each grant expenditure by each grant 
recipient, including the amount of, and purpose for, each expenditure. 
In the past, PHMSA has not collected this information. Requiring this 
information now constitutes a revision to an existing information 
collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and necessitates 
approval by OMB.
    The additional information will provide a better understanding of 
how the allocated funds are being used and will enable PHMSA to help 
grantees to better develop, improve, or implement emergency plans; 
train emergency response employees; determine flow patterns of 
hazardous materials within a state and between states; and determine 
the need within the state, territory, or Native American tribal land 
for regional hazardous materials emergency response teams.

Questions to HMEP Grantees

    Following the close of this 60-Day Notice and receipt of comments, 
PHMSA will publish a 30-day Notice. The 30-day Notice will provide 
grantees, shippers, carriers, and other stakeholders the questions 
PHMSA will ask grantees for it to comply with the new MAP-21 reporting 
requirements and to enable it to more accurately evaluate the 
effectiveness of the HMEP program in meeting emergency response 
planning and training needs. PHMSA proposes to collect the following 
types of information from each HMEP grantee.

General Grantee and Sub-Grantee Information

    PHMSA is seeking to collect the following general background 
information on grantees and sub-grantees to comply with the MAP-21 
requirements and identify the ultimate grant recipients and their 
intended use of grant funds. This detailed level of reporting will 
allow PHMSA to better help grant recipients identify when training or 
planning has been

[[Page 72974]]

successful, and how best to allocate future funds. While the initial 
application includes this information, throughout the year, the grant 
point-of-contact, and other necessary information, often changes. 
Confirming that the information on grantees is up-to-date throughout 
the grant cycle will enable PHMSA to better monitor the ultimate 
recipient and use of grant funds, and will ensure that PHMSA is able to 
contact grantees when necessary, allowing it to better oversee the use 
of the grant funds.

Grantee Information

 Grantee's name
 Name of point of contact
 Telephone number of the point of contact
 Email address of the point of contact
 Grant number
 Reporting period for which the report is being submitted

Planning and Training Grants Sub-grantee Information

 Names and requested funding amount for each sub-grantee
 Award amount of each sub-grantee
 Amount expended by the close of the reporting period
 An explanation of the selection process and how funding was 
allocated to each sub-grantee
 An explanation of how the grantee made no less than 75% of 
HMEP training grant funds available to benefit public sector employees

    PHMSA does not anticipate that completing the general grantee and 
sub-grantee questions will impose a significant burden. This 
information is used by the grantee to determine how it will distribute 
its funds throughout the course of the grant cycle. As such, grant 
recipients should have this information readily available before they 
request grant funding. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will be 
asked to answer these questions and that it will take each respondent 
approximately 60 minutes to answer the list of questions. The resulting 
estimated total burden is 65 hours (65 respondents x 1 hour per 
respondent = 65 hours) for the grantee and sub-grantee question data 
collection.

Information on Local Emergency Planning Committees

    PHMSA is seeking to collect information regarding Local Emergency 
Planning Committees (LEPCs) or comparable entities. PHMSA's mission is 
to protect people and the environment from the risks of hazardous 
materials transportation. One way in which PHMSA achieves its mission 
is to provide funding to grantees, who, in turn, fund LEPCs to prepare 
the public and first responders to reduce consequences if an incident 
does occur. LEPCs are in place to plan the initial response for 
foreseeable hazardous materials transportation incidents, which is in 
direct support of PHMSA's mission. The consequences of incidents 
involving hazardous materials transportation could be greatly reduced 
when a locality has an active LEPC with information on what hazardous 
materials are passing through its community.
    On July 6, 2013, a catastrophic accident involving a freight train 
containing loaded tank cars of petroleum crude oil occurred in the town 
of Lac-M[eacute]gantic, Quebec, on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic 
Railway (MMA). Forty-two people were confirmed dead with five more 
missing and presumed dead. More than 30 buildings in the town's center, 
roughly half of the downtown area, were destroyed.
    While an active LEPC most likely could not have mitigated the 
disastrous results in this particular incident, as the chain of events 
unfolded too quickly for any organized response, this incident did 
bring to light the ever growing quantities of hazardous materials, 
especially crude oil, that are moving through the nation's 
communities.\3\ This increase in shipments of crude oil corresponds 
with the increase in the number of incidents and accidents from 
railroad cars carrying crude oil--up from one or two incidents a year 
in the early 2000's to 88 in 2012.\4\
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    \3\ Industry statistics demonstrate that, in terms of rail 
originations, crude oil shipments are the fastest growing of all 
hazardous materials shipped by rail. According to the Association of 
American Railroads' (AAR) Annual Report of Hazardous Materials 
Transported by Rail for 2012, the number of crude oil originations 
has increased by 443% since 2005. Further, since 2005, rail 
shipments of ethanol have increased by a similar percentage. DOT 
anticipates that for the foreseeable future, rail shipment 
originations of crude oil will remain high.
    \4\ U.S. DOT, PHMSA, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, 
Incidents Reports Database.
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    On July 10, 2005, two freight trains collided head-on in Anding, 
Mississippi. This accident prompted the National Transportation Safety 
Board (NTSB) to recommend that PHMSA require and verify that states and 
their communities receiving funds through the HMEP grant program 
conduct training exercises and drills with the joint participation of 
railroads and other transporters of hazardous materials as a means to 
evaluate state, regional, and local emergency response plans.
    With adequate planning and preparedness to respond to catastrophic 
accidents, injuries and deaths could be reduced or avoided. Data 
involving highway miles, rail miles,\5\ and the assessment of chemical 
threats and response capabilities, examined in conjunction with 
detailed information regarding the LEPCs, will enable PHMSA to comply 
with the MAP-21 requirements to better identify the level of grant 
funding used for planning by each grantee, increase its oversight, and 
better enable grantees to support training activities in support of 
PHMSA's mission. With this in mind, PHMSA seeks to request the 
following information.
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    \5\ Highway and rail miles can be derived from other sources.

 Number of active Local Emergency Planning Committees or 
equivalent
 Number of inactive Local Emergency Planning Committees or 
equivalent
 Number of emergency response plans currently in place
 Number of Local Emergency Planning Committees participating on 
the grant

    PHMSA does not anticipate that providing the information regarding 
LEPCs or comparable entities will impose a significant burden on grant 
recipients. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to 
answer these questions, and that it will take each respondent 
approximately 60 minutes to answer the list of questions. The resulting 
estimated total burden is 65 hours (65 respondents x 1 hour per 
respondent = 65 hours) for the grantee to collect this data.

Assessment of Potential Chemical Threats

    PHMSA is seeking to collect the following information on the 
potential for hazardous materials incidents or accidents in each 
grantee's state, territory, or Native American tribe to help determine 
if the level of funding to each grant recipient is commensurate with 
the potential for incidents or accidents in the particular 
jurisdiction. This information will enable PHMSA to better allocate 
grant funds according to need.

 Total number of hazards chemicals produced, used, or stored 
within the applicant's State/Tribe/Territory
 Total number of facilities that produce, use, or store 
hazardous chemicals within the applicant's State/Tribe/Territory
 Total number of facilities that produce, use, or store 
extremely hazardous substances within the applicant's State/Tribe/
Territory

    PHMSA does not anticipate that providing information on hazardous

[[Page 72975]]

chemicals use, production, and storage will impose a significant burden 
on grantees. This information must already be provided by facilities to 
the State Emergency Response Commission, LEPC, and local fire 
departments in accordance with the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-to-Know Act. The questions listed above are intended to ensure 
that PHMSA complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements, and 
estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these 
questions. PHMSA estimates it will take each respondent approximately 
20 minutes to answer the list of questions, resulting in an estimated 
total burden of 22 hours (65 respondents x 0.33 hour per respondent = 
22 hours) for the grantee and sub-grantee question data collection.

Assessment of Response Capabilities for Accidents/Incidents Involving 
the Transportation of Hazardous Materials

    PHMSA is seeking to collect the following information on the total 
number of emergency responders and emergency response teams with a 
HAZMAT specialty unit in each grantee's state, territory, or Native 
American tribe to help determine if the level of funding to each grant 
recipient is commensurate with the potential in the particular 
jurisdiction for incidents or accidents. This information will enable 
PHMSA to better allocate grant funds according to need.

 The total number of emergency responders in the following 
disciplines:
    [cir] Police
    [cir] Fire
    [cir] EMS
    [cir] Other
 The number of emergency response teams with a HAZMAT specialty 
unit

    PHMSA does not anticipate that providing the number of emergency 
responders and the number of emergency response teams with HAZMAT 
specialty units will impose a significant burden on grantees. PHMSA 
estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these 
questions, and that it will take each respondent approximately 30 
minutes to answer the list of questions. The resulting estimated total 
burden is 32.5 hours (65 respondents x 0.5 hour per respondent = 32.5 
hours) for the grantee and sub-grantee question data collection.

HMEP Planning and Training Grant Reporting

    PHMSA is seeking to collect the following information on each 
completed activity for the reporting period. The information obtained 
will enable PHMSA to ascertain more detailed reporting from grantees to 
comply with MAP-21.

 The grantee will list the completed activities for the 
reporting period, including:
    [cir] Name of the activity
    [cir] Purpose of the activity
    [cir] Number of participants involved in the activity
    [cir] Name and description of supplies needed to conduct the 
activity (if applicable)
    [cir] Name and description of any equipment needed to conduct the 
activity (if applicable)
    [cir] Expected start and end time for the activity (if applicable)
 Outcome of each completed activity
 Output of each completed activity
 Actual cost of each completed activity using the following 
categories:
    [cir] Personal costs
    [cir] Fringe benefits costs
    [cir] Travel costs
    [cir] Equipment costs
    [cir] Supplies costs
    [cir] Contractual costs
    [cir] Indirect costs
    [cir] Other costs not listed
 The amount of non-Federal funds contributed to this activity, 
if any
 Aggregate expenditures exclusive of Federal funds for the last 
five years

    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA 
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not 
anticipate that providing information on each completed activity will 
impose a significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than 
65 grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will 
take each respondent approximately 30 minutes to answer the list of 
questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 32.5 hours (65 
respondents x 0.5 hour per respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee and 
sub-grantee question data collection.

HMEP Planning Goal and Objectives

    PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on each grant 
recipient's goals and objectives for the HMEP planning grant to better 
allocate grant funds. A 2008 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
Nationwide Survey \6\ of LEPCs indicated that a dedicated membership is 
the greatest single factor contributing to an LEPC's success (33.3%) 
while 15.9% report that regularly scheduled meetings contribute most to 
their success as an organization. Grant funding to support LEPC 
planning initial responses for foreseeable hazardous materials 
transportation incidents would most likely reduce the number of 
incidents and accidents in each state, territory, or Native American 
tribal land. PHMSA intends to ask each planning grant recipient to 
explain the following goals and objectives.
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    \6\ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2008 Nationwide Survey 
of LEPCs (http://www.epa.gov/oem/docs/chem/2008_lepcsurv.pdf 
(accessed 11/7/2013))

 The current abilities and authorities of the grant recipient's 
program for preparedness planning
 The need to sustain or increase program capability
 The current degree of participation in regional hazardous 
materials emergency preparedness teams
 The intention to assess the need for a regional hazardous 
materials emergency preparedness team
 The impact that the grant has/will have on the program

    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA 
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not 
anticipate that providing planning goals and objectives will impose a 
significant burden on grantees. These are question each grantee must 
ask itself when applying for HMEP grant funds. PHMSA estimates no more 
than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it 
will take each respondent approximately 30 minutes to answer the list 
of questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 32.5 hours (65 
respondents x 0.5 hour per respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee and 
sub-grantee question data collection.

HMEP Training Goals and Objectives

    PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on each grant 
recipient's goals and objectives for the HMEP training grant to better 
allocate grant funds to reduce the number of incidents and accidents in 
each state, territory, or Native American tribal land. PHMSA intends to 
ask each training grant recipient to explain the following goals and 
objectives.
     Overall training needs of the jurisdiction, quantified in 
terms of number of persons needing training and the number of persons 
currently trained in the different disciplines and planning and 
response functions.
     Ways in which the training grant will support the diverse 
needs in the jurisdiction, such as decentralized delivery of training 
to meet the needs and time considerations of local responders or how 
the grant program will accommodate the different training needs for 
rural versus urban environments.

[[Page 72976]]

    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA 
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not 
anticipate that providing training goals and objectives will impose a 
significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 
grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will take 
each respondent approximately 20 minutes to answer the list of 
questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 22 hours (65 
respondents x 0.33 hour per respondent = 22 hours) for the grantee data 
collection.

HMEP Training and Planning Assessment

    PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on each grantee's 
assessment of the use of their HMEP training and planning grant funds 
towards the end of the grant cycle to determine how the grant funds 
were actually used and to assess the best allocation of future grants. 
PHMSA intends to ask each grant recipient to provide a progress report 
during the course of the grant cycle on the following:
     A narrative detailing how goals and objectives for the 
HMEP planning grant were achieved.
     A narrative detailing how the State/Tribe/Territory, 
through the use of HMEP planning funds, is better suited to handle 
accidents and incidents involving the transport of hazardous materials.
     Number of emergency plans updated during the performance 
period.
     Number of emergency response plans written during the 
performance period.
     Number of commodity flow studies conducted during the 
performance period.
     Number of hazard risk analyses conducted during the 
performance period.
     Number of hazardous materials drills or exercises 
conducted during the performance period involving air, water, highway, 
and rail.
     A narrative detailing how the State/Tribe/Territory, 
through the use of HMEP planning and training funds, is better suited 
to handle accidents and incidents involving the transport of hazardous 
materials.
     Number of fire, police, EMS, and any additional 
disciplines that received awareness, operation, technician, refresher, 
Incident Command System, site specialist trainings.
    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA 
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not 
anticipate that providing training assessments will impose a 
significant burden on grantees as grantees should be aware of these 
statistics to determine the effectiveness of the activities performed 
using HMEP grant funds. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will 
be asked to answer these questions, and that it will take each 
respondent approximately 30 minutes to answer the list of questions. 
The resulting estimated total burden is 32.5 hours (65 respondents x 
0.50 hour per respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee data collection.

Hazmat Transportation Fees

    PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on hazardous 
materials transportation fees collected within each grantee's state, 
territory, or Native American tribe. 49 U.S.C. 5116(b)(4)(C) and (D) 
authorizes PHMSA to allocate amounts made available for grants for a 
fiscal year among eligible states, territories, and Native American 
tribes based on the needs of the states and Native American tribes for 
emergency response training. In making a decision about those needs, 
PHMSA is required to consider whether the state, territory, or Native 
American tribe imposes and collects a fee on transporting hazardous 
material; and whether the fee is used only to carry out a purpose 
related to transporting hazardous material. In the past, PHMSA has not 
collected this information. Requiring this information now constitutes 
a revision to an existing information collection under the PRA and 
necessitates approval by OMB. This information may be used to assess 
whether entities are receiving funds from other sources to perform 
hazardous materials transportation training or planning and to 
determine whether or not to reallocate funds to grantees without 
supplemental funding.
     Are fees collected solely for the transportation of 
hazardous materials in the grant recipient's state, territory, or 
Native American tribe? (yes or no)
     If such fees are collected, are they used to carry out 
purposes related to the transportation of hazardous materials? (yes or 
no)
     If fees are used to carry out purposes related to the 
transportation of hazardous materials, what is the dollar amount 
collected?
    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA is 
aware of other funding for hazardous materials transportation in each 
state, territory, or Native American tribe to better assess how each 
grantee is using HMEP grant funds, and to what degree, if any, funding 
may be used towards other resources where additional funding is not 
available. PHMSA does not anticipate that listing hazmat fees collected 
by each grantee's state, territory, or Native American tribe will 
impose a significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than 
65 grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will 
take each respondent approximately 10 minutes to answer the list of 
questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 11 hours (65 
respondents x 0.17 hour per respondent = 11 hours) for the grantee data 
collection.

Grantee Complies With National Incident Management System and Grant 
Application Is Reviewed by SERC

    Prior to applying for a HMEP grant, states, territories and Native 
American tribes must comply with the National Incident Management 
System (NIMS). NIMS identifies concepts and principles to manage 
emergencies from preparedness to recovery regardless of their cause, 
size, location, or complexity. State Emergency Response Commissions 
(SERC) consist of members from state and local government, including 
fire, public health, industry, transportation, and the public. Members 
of SERC are generally appointed by the governor of each state and are 
requested to supervise and coordinate activities of Local Emergency 
Planning Committees, and to approve members of the LEPC. PHMSA seeks to 
collect the following information on each grant applicant to ensure 
that they meet NIMS requirements and that each member of the SERC was 
given the opportunity to review the HMEP Grant application before 
submitting it to PHMSA.
     The applicant is to state whether or not the State/Tribe/
Territory is compliant with National Incident Management System (NIMS) 
(yes or no)
     The applicant is to state whether or not each member of 
the SERC was given the opportunity to review the HMEP Grant application 
before submitting it to PHMSA. (yes or no)
    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that grant 
applicants comply with Federal requirements to receive grant funds. 
PHMSA does not anticipate that answering these questions will impose a 
significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 
grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will take 
each respondent approximately 5 minutes to answer the two questions. 
The resulting estimated total burden is 5.5 hours (65 respondents x .08 
hour per respondent = 5.5 hours).

[[Page 72977]]

HMEP Grant Program Administration

    PHMSA seeks to maintain up-to-date records to ensure that it 
continues to receive detailed accounting of all grantees and sub-
grantees. Accordingly, PHMSA intends to ask each grant applicant the 
following questions.
     If applicable, the grantee will list any changes in the 
grant program; i.e. program priorities, points of contact, tax or 
employee identification numbers.
     If applicable, the grantee will list any issues that 
impact performance; i.e. response to natural disasters or loss of key 
personnel.
    The questions listed above are intended to ensure that grantees 
provide up-to-date information. PHMSA does not anticipate that 
answering these questions will impose a significant burden on grantees. 
PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these 
questions, and that it will take each respondent approximately 10 
minutes to answer the two questions. The resulting estimated total 
burden is 11 hours (65 respondents x .17 hour per respondent = 11 
hours).

Total Information Collection Burden

    The total revised information collection budget for the HMEP grants 
program follows:

 
 
 
General Grantee and Sub-        65 respondents x   = 65 hours
 grantee information.            1 hr.
Information on LEPCs..........  65 respondents x    = 65 hours
                                 1 hr.
Assessment of Potential          65 respondents x  = 22 hours
 Chemical Threats.               0.33 hr.
Assessment of Response          65 respondents x    = 32.5 hours
 Capabilities for Accidents/     0.5 hr.
 Incidents.
HMEP Planning and Training      65 respondents x    = 32.5 hours
 Grant Reporting.                0.5 hr.
HMEP Planning Goals and         65 respondents x    = 32.5 hours
 Objectives.                     0.5 hr.
HMEP Training Goals and          65 respondents x   = 22 hours
 Objectives.                     0.33 hr.
HMEP Training and Planning      65 respondents x   = 32.5 hours
 Assessment.                     0.5 hr.
Hazmat Transportation Fees....  65 respondents x    = 11 hours
                                 0.17 hr.
Grant Applicant is NIMS         65 respondents x   = 5.5 hours
 Compliant/Grant Application     .08 hr.
 Is Reviewed By SERC.
HMEP Grant Program              65 respondents x   = 11 hour
 Administration.                 0.17 hr.
                                                  ----------------------
    Total Information           65 respondents...  331.5 hours
     Collection Burden.
 

    Title: Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning 
Grants.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0586.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: Part 110 of 49 CFR sets forth the procedures for 
reimbursable grants for public sector planning and training in support 
of the emergency planning and training efforts of states, Native 
American tribes and local communities to manage hazardous materials 
emergencies, particularly those involving transportation. Sections in 
this part address information collection and recordkeeping with regard 
to applying for grants, monitoring expenditures, and reporting and 
requesting modifications.
    Affected Public: State and local governments, territories, and 
Native American tribes. Recordkeeping:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 65
    Estimated Number of Responses: 65
    Increase in Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 320
    Increase in Estimated Annual Burden Costs: $3,200
    Frequency of Collection: Up to four (4) times a year.

R. Ryan Posten,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline 
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-29015 Filed 12-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P